TOTTENHAM defender Michael Dawson is desperate to flush Saturday's defeat at Middlesbrough out of the system by beating Sunderland this weekend.

Spurs got their season off to the worst possible start, losing 2-1, despite an encouraging pre-season campaign. But Dawson doesn't believe the result will start an unwelcome trend, and is tipping his team-mates to respond at the first attempt.

"We'd worked hard for six or seven weeks building up to the first game of the season, so to lose was a downer. It was a bad day for us," Dawson told the club's official website.

"Credit to Boro, they worked hard and did their job well, but if we'd have got that first goal they might have come out at us and we might have got another one.

"That's what happens in football. It would have been nice to have a game in mid-week to get Boro out of our system with three points, but we've got to wait until Saturday.

"Sunderland got beat at the weekend as well so it will be a tough test, but we need three points on the board and quick.

"It's one game in a long season that we've lost, so we've got to put it behind us and hope the fans get behind us on Saturday, which I'm sure they will do."