Former Valencia and Middlesbrough midfielder Gaizka Mendieta believes that Andre Villas-Boas should be given time at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Portuguese manager came under fire following his side's 6-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday.

"I think in a way [the pressure is] a bit unfair because Spurs, before that game, only conceded six goals," he told ITV Sport. "They have a lot of new players – seven new players – coming into the team and I think fans were very excited about this season because they felt this season would be a challenge, if not for the title, for the Champions League spots and that needs time.

"When you have seven players, and four or five are in the lineup, you need time to work with that. For the manager as well, to get to know the players, he needs time, and the players who haven't got experience in the Premier League need that time.

"Now, all of a sudden, you get one bad result and everything seems to be blown up and the trust in the team and the manager seems to be in doubt. I think that's a bit unfair."

Tottenham defeated Tromso IL 2-0 away from home on Thursday to maintain their winning run in the Europa League Group K.