Eric Dier is backing Tottenham to climb out of their current rut.

Spurs' poor start to the season continued with an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to League Two Colchester on Tuesday, when they went out 4-3 on penalties.

There is a strong sense that all is not well at the club, with boss Mauricio Pochettino talking of battling "different agendas" within his squad, and their results in 2019 have been alarming.

Amid a memorable run to the Champions League final, they have only won eight of their last 26 games in all competitions and their Premier League form has nose-dived.

But Dier, who made his first appearance of the season at the JobServe Community Stadium, believes Spurs have what it takes to turn things around.

"We've been through periods like this before, with this group together, and we know what we need to do to get back on track," he said.

"We need to be humble, be able to recognise what we need to do better – each and every one of us. And work even harder than we have been to get things going in the right direction."

Their inability to get past a side 71 places below them in the football pyramid is a big cause for concern as they laboured to a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes.

"We controlled the whole game, they had no shots on target," Dier said. "We weren't good enough in their half, every player, we weren't good enough at making the final pass or final run to finish off our plays and score.

"I think we controlled the game, started well, on the front foot from the beginning but we got a bit sloppy in the final 10 minutes before half-time.

"In the second half the game was a bit more open because we were trying to score and they had the opportunity on the counter attack but still didn't really come close.

"We didn't do enough around their box to score."

The result soured what should have been a positive night for Dier, who has put a spate of injuries and illness behind him to make his first appearance of the season.

And the England international is looking to kick on.

"It's not so much injuries but I've been unfortunate with illness, unfortunate to miss pre-season," he added.

"That hindered me. The most important thing is the team, trying to push on together. I need to keep working the way I am and taking my opportunities."