Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says Matt Doherty is a great example for his teammates.

Doherty deputised at left wing-back in Sunday's 5-1 win over Newcastle, finishing with a goal and assist, and Conte said the Republic of Ireland international is an "example" to the rest of his squad.

"Matthew is the typical player that is showing good improvement," Conte said ahead of the trip to Aston Villa. "At the start he didn't play a lot with me because at that moment I think he didn't deserve to play.

"But then he worked really hard. He's a really good guy. In every training session, you see the desire, the will to improve himself, the tactical and technical aspect. He's got a great mentality. He's strong.

"Many times when players don't play a lot, they go down mentally. But he's shown me to be strong, to stay there. He showed me, 'I can do what you want, I am going to improve and when I am ready I want to play'. He showed me not with talking but with his attitude and his behaviour and for this reason he is playing, he is deserving to play and he is playing very well. He has great confidence and I am very happy for him, because this is a big example for the other players. I want to win and I don't care if I play one player or another player, I decide the player when I see that this player gives me great attitude."