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Roberto De Zerbi said he was more satisfied with Tottenham’s performance than the three points after his team triumphed at Aston Villa to move above the relegation zone with three Premier League matches remaining. De Zerbi said the manner of the win should accelerate belief within his squad that they can avoid the drop.

Spurs, who host Leeds next weekend, are a point above West Ham and two behind Nottingham Forest, whose game in hand is at Chelsea on Monday. First-half goals by Conor Gallagher and Richarlison were sufficient to earn Spurs successive wins for the first time since August, Emiliano Buendía scoring a consolation in the 96th-minute with Villa’s first effort on target.

De Zerbi, who last month became Spurs’s third head coach of the season, was delighted with his side’s display. “I’m really pleased with the performance with the ball, without the ball,” he said. “Without the ball we showed great courage and with the ball great qualities … I’m happy for this type of performance more than three points. OK, we have one point more than West Ham but the most important thing was to play a great game, to believe more and more in ourselves and in our qualities and then we have to keep the focus and improve.”

De Zerbi said of Gallagher “when he plays well, we play with 12 players” and the pair exchanged compliments. The England midfielder praised De Zerbi’s impact but said of the uplift under the Italian “hopefully it’s only the start”. Spurs have taken seven points from a possible 12 since De Zerbi succeeded Igor Tudor.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him,” Gallagher said of the Italian. “He’s been so good. Every player has taken to him, everyone trusts him, he makes you feel good, confident … he’s bringing the best out of players, and it’s only the start. Hopefully we can keep learning from him, hopefully we can build a great team and hopefully it can be the start of something great. We want to carry it on.”

Unai Emery made seven changes from Villa’s Europa League first-leg defeat at Nottingham Forest and were second-best throughout. Emery, who accepted Villa must raise their game when Vitor Pereira’s side visit in the return fixture on Thursday with a 1-0 advantage, but defended his decision to rotate.

“I knew before the match, I knew my challenge: to win with some changes, but I believe in the players,” said Emery, confirming his captain, John McGinn, was omitted from his squad as a precaution. “If someone doesn’t believe in the players, the supporters or the media, OK, don’t believe, but it’s not different when we are winning to when we are losing. OK, I accept as well some criticism.”