Ange Postecoglou praised Giovani Lo Celso after his starring role for Tottenham in their 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
Postecoglou also said Rodrigo Bentancur's return to side, some six weeks ahead of schedule, was the most pleasing aspect of the day.
Lo Celso assisted goals for Pape Sarr and Heung-min Son and was hugely influential.
Bentancur was not expected to return from ankle ligament damage until mid-February when he was injured against Aston Villa last month. He was also involved in Sarr's goal.
"Gio was great," said Postecoglou, who is now set to lose Son, Sarr and Yves Bissouma to international tournaments.
"He's been great the last two or three weeks. With the amount of injuries we've had and absences we've had, we've needed everyone in the group and everybody who has come in has stepped up.
"Gio was very good today, not just with his work rate but you could see his quality on the ball. His passes through and the one through to Sonny was outstanding. We needed him today and we're going to need him going forward because Sonny goes away now, Biss goes away, Pape goes away. So I thought he was a good contributor."
On Bentancur, Postecoglou said: "He trained all week with us and speaking to him yesterday, he felt really good about how he was feeling.
"We kind of knew there would be a time limit to how much we could get out of him. It was great to see him out there again and he gives the whole group a lift.
"Not just because he is a fantastic player but this group has seen what he's gone through in recent times and within that context, he's never let it get him down. He is a warrior. The frustrating thing for all the guys missing out at the moment is they want to help and he wanted to help.
"I thought it was great today. Apart from the win, that was probably the most pleasing thing that he got through 60 minutes and he can help us from here on."
