Danny Rose and Kyle Walker are Tottenham Hotspur's two longest-serving players and Hugo Lloris believes their connection with the club helps explain their match-winning form.
Rose joined Spurs in 2007 and Walker followed two years later, and both full-backs have made more than 100 league appearances for the club. The pair have been superb since manager Mauricio Pochettino's appointment in summer 2014, and they inspired Spurs to back-to-back home wins against Hull City and Burnley this week.
Both assisted Christian Eriksen in Wednesday's 3-0 win against Hull and Walker set up Dele Alli's equaliser before Rose's brilliant winning goal in the 2-1 win over Burnley.
Great team effort today. Well done Danny on your goal! #fullbacksunion �� pic.twitter.com/672jBZZMZk
- Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) December 18, 2016
Their captain Lloris believes there is still more to come from the 26-year-olds, who have established themselves as England's first-choice full-back pair.
"They are very involved, very committed to the club and then most importantly in the philosophy they have a lot of freedom," the goalkeeper told reporters after Sunday's win at White Hart Lane.
"We play a very attacking game but they try to be as strong as possible at the back, they first try to be very good defenders but also to help the team score and create chances. In the last two games they were decisive for the team. It's a great feeling for them, for the team, and for the England national team too.
"They are still young. There are still some good players in front of them but if they keep working hard I would not be surprised if they had a great international career and they will help the club achieve great things as well. I feel they are very committed to the team. They have been in the club for a while and you can see that on the pitch: the way they play, the way they run, they can feel it."
These two... �� �� pic.twitter.com/5J7Ni17kaE
- Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 18, 2016
Lloris also praised his France international teammate Moussa Sissoko, who followed up an impressed performance against Hull with a lively cameo from the bench, and an assist for Rose, on Sunday.
Clarets boss Sean Dyche was furious that Sissoko escaped a red card for a high, late tackle on Stephen Ward moments before he put Rose through for the winner but Lloris shrugged off the incident, pointing to Matt Lowton's first-half tackle on Dele Alli as a similar challenge.
"I am very pleased for Moussa," Lloris said. "He is a great guy and it was not an easy period. He is showing in the last three games that he is getting better and stronger and today he helped the team make the difference with a great assist. It's important to make the players all feel involved.
"Was it a red card? I don't know, there was one in the first half too from the Burnley player. It's football. Of course it's not on purpose. It's a factor in this game but in the end, although it was tight, we showed more quality.
"Today was a tough game. Burnley played a great game, they were very aggressive. They run a lot, they fought a lot and it wasn't easy to manage for us especially after the last couple of games. We got the result we expected and that is very good for the season."
Spurs have a 10-day break until their next match at Southampton on Dec. 28 and the players went straight from the stadium to a Christmas party after the win against Burnley.
"The feeling is very good because we made the job this week," Lloris explained. "It is never easy to win two games at home, especially against teams who are fighting against relegation. And now we can have a bit of rest and enjoy it with our family over Christmas. We are going to have some time to work hard and get fitter than we finished the last few games.
"We need to get the right balance between resting and recovering, especially mentally, and then to work hard and get fitter and stronger for the next few games. We have two days off so we can enjoy it with family and rest a bit of the mind. The last few games have been tough with lots of games in midweek. We have done well and we can be pleased with our results."