Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino says they are still fighting for the club’s first title in 55 years after a “fantastic” performance against Manchester United.

After a lacklustre first half in a game delayed by half an hour, Spurs blew away United 3-0 with three goals in six minutes from Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela

Pochettino said the performance showed they will keep trying to overhaul league leaders Leicester, despite trailing them by seven points after the Foxes beat Sunderland earlier in the day.

He said: “It sends a message we are still there, and if they fail we are fighting. Seven points is a difficult gap but we have to believe, and that performance shows we do, we have to maintain this mentality.

“It is always important to show belief, a single reaction can change the game. It was a fantastic performance against a difficult team, I feel very proud and pleased for the players.

“We had not the time to sit and relax and watch Leicester, but we always respect the other results. It was important for us to show personality, character and maturity after the Leicester game, we had to try and close the gap, we did and I am very happy.”

He confirmed Harry Kane is ok after he limped off late in the game, describing it as “just a kick”.

Pochettino also admitted he missed the third goal – he went to the toilet, and on hearing the crowd, ran to the changing room to see a replay of the goal on TV.

He also said his team had been affected by the late start, with the kick-off delayed to 4.30pm after the Manchester United team coach got stuck in traffic.

He said: “It was difficult – we missed a lot of easy passes, but for them it was difficult too, staying on the coach in the traffic.

“We turned up at 2.30pm at the stadium, and spent a lot of time waiting; in London, sometimes the traffic is very busy.

“But in the end, we put in a fantastic performance.”