Martin O'Neill: “The mood has always been upbeat but winning football matches, which we have been doing, gives everyone a confidence boost.
“Southampton away was a big win for us, and following it up here on Boxing Day against Man City was great.
“Against Spurs, we played with a lot of commitment and a lot of heart, and got ourselves in front just before half-time.
“But the disappointment was to concede two goals in three minutes, which knocked us back.
"Simon Mignolet has done brilliantly. He made a really great save [from Jermain Defoe] at a time when it might have been 3-1 in the match. And he pulled off another one after that, too.
“We had a great win against Man City on Boxing Day which gave us a big lift, so we went into this game in good spirits.
"O’Shea will be out [for the Liverpool game]. We’re stretched a bit.”