Dominic Solanke paid tribute to Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou for keeping the players on track as they took their place in the Europa League final.
Spurs put in a professional display in Bodo to win 2-0 on the night with goals from Solanke and Pedro Porro to grab a 5-1 aggregate victory over their Norwegian hosts. They will now take on Manchester United in the showpiece final in Bilbao on May 21.
With Tottenham having a difficult Premier League season, Postecoglou has come under fire with plenty of speculation about his future. The Australian delivered a heartfelt speech in the dressing room to the players after the game and Solanke said the squad are pulling for their head coach.
"We’re delighted. He’s kept us on track the whole season and got us to where we are now," said the striker. "One more game and hopefully we can get the job done.
"It means everything to the players, staff and fans as well. It’s obviously been a difficult season in the league but we’ve put in good performances in Europe.
"We got to this stage tonight, we knew it was going to be a difficult game but we got the job done and got into the final so hopefully we can go on and win it.
"The aim from the start of the season has been to win something and create something special and now the team are one game from doing that.
"We’ve all been on the same board from the start of the season. It’s been difficult in the league but we knew from the start of the season that we wanted to try and win something. Obviously the European competition we’ve done well," he said.
"We set our eyes on it from the start and managed to get to this point now. We’ve managed to stick together the whole time.
"It’s joy in [that dressing room]. The vibes are really high. We were fully focused before the game but we got the job done now so we can enjoy it tonight."
Solanke signed from Bournemouth in a £65million deal last summer and with 15 goals despite missing a couple of months with a knee injury, that price tag has meant very little to the hard-working striker.
"Pressure is a privilege. I came to the club in the summer. Obviously it’s a big club so it was big boots to fill," he said. “In the league we could have done better. Maybe I could have done better as well.
"But in a European tournament, we’re so close to winning the trophy which the club has wanted for years now. Everyone, the fans, the staff and us players too. There’s been some tough games recently but we’ve all played our part."
When asked whether nights like Thursday's semi-final win were why he came to Spurs in the first place, he nodded without hesitation.
"100 per cent. When you’re at big clubs, you always want to be fighting for silverware. We’ce got the chance to do that in a few weeks," he said. “It’s going to be a great game, hopefully we can win it."
Spurs have beaten United three times this season and while Solanke believes that will give the players some confidence it will mean little more than that on the day.
"Yeah, a little bit [of confidence], but obviously it’s going to be a completely different game, different circumstances," he said. “Finals are never easy. We’re both in the final for a reason, we’ve both done well in Europe, so we know it’s going to be a difficult game.
"We’ll need to prepare well but we’re going to enjoy it. It’s not often you make the final of a European competition. These are the games that we live for, really. That we dreamt about when we were young. It’s a privilege, but the job’s not done."