Marouane Fellaini was singled out for praise by his manager in the wake of Manchester United's win over Tottenham on Sunday, despite the fact that he only came on as a late substitute.
Jose Mourinho was happy with his side's performance, despite stating that he felt they could have had an even greater advantage over Spurs in the game, if they had been able to put their chances away.
However, he highlighted that despite recent results not going as well as he would have hoped, he has been pleased with the way the team has gone about their business.
"We played very well again against a very good team, so it's more difficult, but we played very, very well. I think we don't deserve to spend the last 10-15 minutes with our heart in our hands because we did enough to score the second goal and to kill the game.
"Once more [we were denied by] the post, Lloris...it was just 1-0, but in this moment 1-0 is magic, because we needed these three points."
Mourinho also complimented Tottenham on their display, and looked ahead to the run of Christmas fixtures stating that they won't be getting any easier.
"It's [a win] against a very good team, so it means even more for us," he added. "But I was saying, that's why I didn't change the team from Everton to this match, the team is playing well, the players are playing well. Normally we have to get better results, but now we go away to [Crystal] Palace away to West Bromwich Albion, two difficult opponents again.
"We are happy with the evolution of the team and because the players, they believe in what we are doing."
Towards the end of the game, Mourinho turned to the bench to bring on Fellaini, a player who has come in for plenty of criticism at the Manchester club since he joined from Everton in 2013.
Most recently, he was slammed for giving away a penalty against his former club when he committed a clumsy challenge in the area just a few minutes after being substituted on to help his team see out the game, costing his side a win.
A chorus of boos greeted his introduction in the closing stages of the win over Tottenham at Old Trafford, and Mourinho made a point of singling him out in his post-match interview.
"I want to dedicate this victory to Marouane Fallaini [...] because he deserves it," said the Portuguese.
When asked what he thought of the reaction and whether the fans should be booing their own players, Mourinho tried to avoid criticising the United faithful.
"They can do what they want and I can't complain because they are being phenomenal with us," he added. "I have to thank them for everything they are giving us, especially in a period where we are not giving them too much.
"I am really happy with them, I am dedicating the victory to Marouane because, in the last match, it was him that was involved in the loss of two points, and I want to make it clear that he is an important player for me."
Via Sky Sports
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