Sunderland manager Gus Poyet is hoping a change in formation will get the best out of new signing Jermain Defoe following their 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

The Black Cats switched to three at the back in order to accommodate their new £14 million signing in the starting line-up and Poyet believes it’s just a matter of time before Defoe finds his sharpness.

“I know Jermain well and he needs to play in a front two. Without any doubt, he cannot play on his own and I’m sure he will benefit from that,” said the Uruguayan.

“It’s just a matter of playing, he needs to play, it’s the only way, training will help during the week but it’s playing games, so the idea is to believe that we can get results playing this way.

“He looked sharp to me, he didn’t want to come off, he wanted to score on his debut but we need to be careful. It’s not only about one game its about the whole season.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was full of praise for Christian Eriksen who clinched victory against Sunderland with his eighth of the season, four of which have lead to victories, with three of them being scored from the 88th minute or later.

“Happy for him, he’s still young but he has big potential, he improves every day and I’m happy for his performance but more happy for the team performance,” the Argentinian said.

“His contribution is clear and is a reality, he’s a very good guy, good professional and a great player.”

The hosts had gone ahead after just three minutes through a deflected Jan Vertonghen effort which wrong-footed Costel Pantilimon.

Sebastian Larsson had drawn the visitors level with a stunning free-kick just after the hour mark but Eriksen snatched all three points for Spurs as he popped up with another late winner.