Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Dembele has claimed that the criticism of under-pressure manager Andre Villas-Boas is unjust.

The Portuguese coach's tactics and future at White Hart Lane have been questioned following Spurs' 6-0 hammering at Manchester City.

However, Dembele has admitted that the team have to take collective responsibility for that 'embarrassing scandal', and believes that their battling performance in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Sunday is evidence that the players are still behind Villas-Boas.

Dembele told reporters. "Everyone is professional enough to know that last week [at the Etihad Stadium] was a scandal. We had to man up and I think we did it. It was not only embarrassing for the manager, but for us as well.

"It is normal that we are trying to show everyone because people were laughing at us after that performance. It is our profession and we showed that it can't happen again. We showed everyone that we have the confidence. We showed character.

"It is always difficult to say whose fault it is. No, of course the stick is not fair on the manager. As a team, we did incredibly well against Manchester United and we have to continue doing this."

Brazilian international Sandro is another Spurs star who has publicly supported Villas-Boas this week.