Manager Ange Postecoglou praised Tottenham’s spirit after his side’s comeback draw with Bournemouth – and hopes they carry that momentum into Thursday’s Europa League tie against AZ Alkmaar.

Tottenham will welcome the Dutch outfit to north London, looking to overturn a one-goal first-leg deficit.

But it will come on the back of a morale-boosting end to their Premier League encounter with the Cherries on Saturday – coming from two goals down to draw 2-2.

“At 2-0 we had a bit of a mountain to climb,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports.

“It was a chaotic game today and the boys showed a real mentality. It would have been really easy at 2-0, with the atmosphere in the stadium, to let it slip away from us but they fought hard and got themselves back in the game.

“It was a different kind of struggle for us today. Bournemouth pressed really well and we were really sloppy with the ball at times which allowed them to pin us back. It wasn’t anything like Thursday but we hung in there.”

Sunday’s draw halted a two-game losing streak across all competitions, having suffered defeat at Alkmaar after a 1-0 league loss against Manchester City.

Spurs have won just two of their past seven games but avoided recording a 19th loss of the campaign.

As well as having the positives of a fightback, Postecoglou also had three senior figures back from long-term injury at a crucial point in their campaign.

The Australian has been staunch in defending Tottenham’s below-par performances, which have them 13th in the table, pointing to the fact that he has been working with restricted options.

And the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of injuries is starting to draw ever closer.

Striker Dominic Solanke and defender Cristian Romero were both named in the starting line-up for the first time in a Premier League game since early January.

Centre-back Micky van de Ven, who has also been sidelined for the past two months, was among the substitutes and roared on to the field by Tottenham fans when introduced in the second half.

Solanke has scored 11 goals in 27 appearances since joining from Bournemouth in the summer, but struggled to get up to speed against his former employer.

Romero got an important 61 minutes under his belt but looked rusty, especially in the opening moments when he almost gifted the visitors a goal with an errant pass.

“There is definitely a sense of nervousness there” Postecoglou added.

“We are getting players back who have been out quite a while. We’ve been keen to get [Cristian] Romero back and his first pass shows he’s not played for three months. Some of it is just anxiety and nervousness which we need to get under control.

“I think Micky van de Ven, Dom and Romero are quality players and we’ve hardly had them all year. It gives the team a bit of a boost to see them out there.”

Positivity has been in scarce supply at Spurs this season but they could still win European silverware.

In September, after losing 1-0 against Arsenal in the north London derby, Postecoglou said “I always win things in my second year”.

Tottenham have since crashed out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, while they are 36 points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

The Europa League offers Postecoglou one final chance to deliver on that statement as the club seeks a first trophy since 2008.

Spurs cruised through the group phase of the revamped Europa League, finishing fourth, but have work to do to reach the quarter-finals after a flat performance when losing 1-0 at AZ Alkmaar.

They registered just a single shot on target in the Netherlands and will need a vastly improved performance to get through.

However, Tottenham boast a strong home record in the competition this campaign, winning three and drawing one, while they have kept three clean sheets.

“I don’t preach from the altar, people are allowed to feel the way they do,” said Postecoglou.

“Playing away at AZ, they certainly helped their team and we’d like to think on Thursday we will make it just as hostile for the opposition.”