Manchester United defender Eric Bailly hails Anthony Martial attitude after his Tottenham winner: 'He always has the mentality where he is ready to come on and make an impact'

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Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has heaped praise on team-mate Anthony Martial after the Frenchman came off the bench to net the winning goal against Tottenham.

Bailly particularly credited the striker for his attitude, telling the Manchester Evening News he 'always has the mentality where he is ready to come on and have an impact' just as he did at the weekend.

Martial latched on to a Romelu Lukaku flick-on to slot past a sprawling Hugo Lloris to secure thee points over their title rivals at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Eric Bailly has praised Manchester United team-mate Anthony Martial after latest winning goal

This came a week after he was subbed off at half-time by Jose Mourinho during their Premier League defeat by Huddersfield.

The 21-year-old is yet to establish himself in United's starting XI this season and has been reduced to mainly substitute appearances, making just three league starts.

And while Marcus Rashford got the nod on the left wing for the visit of Spurs, Bailly believes Martial's mental strength is a strong attribute that means he can always come off the bench and have an impact, having already scored four goals this season. 

The Frenchman came off the bench to slot past Hugo Lloris to win the match on Saturday

And Bailly believes his strong mentality allows him to come on and always have a huge impact

'I think we have a lot of very good players in the squad. When one does not play, the others do,' Bailly said.

'The good thing about Anthony is that he is always here to help the team whenever he is needed and he showed that today (Saturday).

'When Rashford plays, Anthony always has that mentality where he is ready to come on and have an impact - which he did by winning the match.

'Anthony, mentally, is strong and he showed that [again]. He is happy and whenever he has a chance he takes it as we saw.'

The three points gave United boss Jose Mourinho a boost who had been criticised recently

United remain five points off league leaders and bitter rivals Man City, but the victory against Mauricio Pochettino's side will give them just the boost they needed after a difficult few weeks.

The importance of the win was highlighted by Mourinho at the final whistle, who aimed a thinly-veiled jibe at his critics by turning to the cameras to shush his doubters.

The Portuguese boss and his United players drew criticism for their display in the 0-0 draw at Anfield against Liverpool which was backed up by their surprise 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield.

But Bailly, who returned to the starting line-up after a four-game absence through injury, believes his side have given the perfect response to the barrage of criticism they have received in recent weeks.

'I think it's normal that there have been critics,' he added.

'You have to accept what they say and get back and train well and perform which we have done.'

The United defender feels the victory puts them back on track after some disappointing results