Dembele 'has learned' from ban

Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele has vowed to keep his temper in check after completing his six-game Premier League ban.

The Belgian international midfielder returns to Mauricio Pochettino’s Premier League squad against Sunderland at White Hart Lane on Sunday after finally completing his suspension for an eye gouge on Chelsea's Diego Costa during the bad-tempered 2-2 draw between the sides at Stamford Bridge on 2 May.

"You want to react in a different way next time, you need to keep your temper and just do the right things," he told Tottenham's official website.

"It’s football, there are emotions involved but it’s something that’s behind me now and I don’t want to concentrate too much on that."

Dembele says he is mentally ready for a first-team return after coming on as a half-time substitute in Wednesday night’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Monaco at Wembley.

"In five months, I think I’ve had two times 45 minutes [he played for Belgium in a recent 2-0 international friendly defeat to Spain] so I haven’t had a lot of games but here at the club I’ve made sure that I’ve trained very hard," he continued.

"Mentally as well, I feel ready and I am focused to be important for the team. I think we’ve started well in the Premier League. The mentality is right, we’ve added quality to the group and that can only be positive."

In other Tottenham news, Tom Carroll says he hopes to impress manager Pochettino through hard work, after signing a new three-year contract with the club on Friday.

"We've had a lot of home-grown talent come through the system in the last few years and now there are younger lads coming up again and it's great to see their faces with the senior squad," he said.

"I'm happy to be rewarded with this new deal and I've got to do it all over again now and impress the manager.

"We've a top squad here full of international players, so it's hard but you have to keep your head down, keep working hard every day and see where it takes you."

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