Ange Postecoglou hailed the "unbelievable" performance of Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke, whose second-half brace sealed a 4-1 win against Aston Villa.
Despite starting the day five points ahead and having pipped Spurs to a top-four finish last term, Villa's lead was short-lived as Morgan Rogers' 32nd-minute strike from a corner was eventually overshadowed by a rampant Tottenham in the second half.
The victory was a stark contrast to the halt in momentum experienced by Postecoglou's team after their impressive Carabao Cup win over Manchester City, but a revitalised Spurs turned the tables post-interval, decimating their Midlands adversaries.
Spurs' captain Son Heung-min provided the assist for Brennan Johnson's seventh goal of the campaign shortly after the break, setting the stage for Solanke's stunning double within the final 15 minutes as he ended a six-game goal drought.
James Maddison, stepping in for Richarlison, put the icing on the cake with a sublime free-kick in stoppage time, propelling Spurs to seventh place. However, it was Solanke's day through and through, as his efforts finally paid dividends with goals to show for it.
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Postecoglou praised: "I just think the enormous effort he put in on Wednesday night to help us win a game of football, not just physically but mentally, and his capacity to help the team in every way he can... To back that up today with such a massive effort again against a pretty difficult team to play against, it's just unbelievable.
"Yeah, the goals are great and of course as a striker I am sure he loves the fact he can score a couple of goals, but even if he didn't, I can't speak highly enough of what he is contributing to our team at the moment.
"And long may it continue because with him playing that way, it just makes us a better team."
However, Spurs suffered setbacks during the match with injuries to key players. Defender Cristian Romero faced issues with his right foot, departing from the pitch in the 61st minute, while Richarlison encountered a muscle problem assisting Solanke's goal scored in the 79th minute.
Postecoglou added: "Richy obviously felt something in the action of setting the goal up in his hamstring, so we'll see. I don't have any further information (on Romero) but he's a pretty tough cookie and for him to come off, it must be sore. It's not ideal but hopefully both are not serious."
Despite these injuries, Spurs secured an impressive result. Postecoglou removed Son in the 56th minute, with the captain showing signs of frustration at being substituted.
However, this decision was part of a predetermined strategy due to Son's recent return from a hamstring injury. The coach clarified: "He's had an injury, he came back and last time it was around the 60-minute mark when he got fatigued so he was never going to play more than 45 to 60 irrespective of the way the game was going.
"The great thing was he made a pretty important contribution before that with a great ball in for our first goal."
Emery reflected on Villa's performance: "We compete and we were being consistent. Of course the first half was much better than the second half and the team were aware how we can be competitive, close to win, close to get more chances to be in top seven positions in Premier League.
"And we are accepting the result because in the second half when they score two goals and take advantage on the field, it is a team in transition, very good and we were making some mistakes."
