Danny Rose has admitted he was “fuming” to be left out of the north London derby but played down rumours of a bust-up with Mauricio Pochettino.

The defender was restored to Tottenham’s starting line-up for last night’s 2-1 victory here at Borussia Dortmund, a result which secured top spot in Champions League Group H.

Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son scored Spurs’ goals but much of the attention was on Rose after he was omitted from the squad against Arsenal last Saturday, with Pochettino urging him to focus on training with the reserves to rebuild his fitness.

Rose, 27, had been out for eight months with a knee injury, during which time he expressed his frustration at his £65,000-a-week wage and Tottenham’s transfer activity, before returning to action in October.

In Pictures | Borussia Dortmund vs Tottenham | 21/11/2017 24 show all In Pictures | Borussia Dortmund vs Tottenham | 21/11/2017 1/24 Getty Images 2/24 AFP/Getty Images 3/24 Getty Images 4/24 Getty Images 5/24 Bongarts/Getty Images 6/24 AFP/Getty Images 7/24 AFP/Getty Images 8/24 AFP/Getty Images 9/24 AFP/Getty Images 10/24 AFP/Getty Images 11/24 AFP/Getty Images 12/24 Getty Images 13/24 Bongarts/Getty Images 14/24 AFP/Getty Images 15/24 AFP/Getty Images 16/24 Getty Images 17/24 AFP/Getty Images 18/24 AFP/Getty Images 19/24 Getty Images 20/24 Getty Images 21/24 Bongarts/Getty Images 22/24 Bongarts/Getty Images 23/24 Getty Images 24/24 AFP/Getty Images

He started the Premier League match against Crystal Palace prior to the international break before appearing in both England friendlies, making his subsequent absence at Emirates Stadium a surprise to many.

Pochettino was angered by questions about Rose’s whereabouts after the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal.

Speaking for the first time about being dropped, Rose said: “My reaction was I was fuming, I was angry. But understanding, at the same time. There has been no bust-up, there has been no argument. There has been no falling out. The manager explained he thought it’d be better for me to do a hard session on Saturday, which I did.

“I understand there have been a lot of reports but they are not welcomed and they are not true.

“And whether I’d been at the Emirates or not, everybody’s losing sight that I couldn’t have stopped the referee or linesman from making bad decisions that led to us conceding.”

Asked whether he felt fit to play against the Gunners, Rose said: “I don’t know. Whatever fitness I have, I still feel I’m one of the best in the League, I believe in my ability.

“At Tottenham, you have to have an exceptional level of fitness. I’m not there yet because I’ve been out for a long time. I’m still catching up.

“I wasn’t happy [with being left out] but it’s gone now, we all have to move on. When I get the opportunity to play, like I did last night, I have to try to do as well as I can.”

Speculation persisted over the weekend that Rose could make a £40million move to Manchester United in the January transfer window but the left-back (left, in action last night) told Standard Sport: “I’ve said in most interviews I’ve done this season that I want to contribute to Tottenham winning something this season.

“Nothing has changed. Everyone just needs to understand that me and the manager want the same thing for this season: we want to win something.

“So I’m on the same page, I’m fully focused on playing as many games as I can for Tottenham, contributing to something beautiful, successful this season.

“And again, there has been no bust-up, no falling-out, and I’m on the same page as the staff.”

Rose came through a slow start to impress last night, mirroring Tottenham’s performance collectively as they recovered from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 31st-minute opener to score two second-half goals.

Last night was Rose’s sixth appearance since coming back from injury and he said: “Before last night, I thought I was close [to full fitness] and then in the first half I was horrendous, I thought I was getting hooked at half-time.

“It gave me a bit of a reality check, maybe I’m not as close as I thought I was. Second half I did better, I contributed quite a lot. I just hope I can get many more minutes, there are a lot of games now over the next six weeks and I hope I can play a part in as many as possible.

“Under this manager we’ve always had a good late November, good December, and I hope that continues and I hope I can be a part of that.

“You can only get fit by playing games. There are only so many training sessions you can do.

“I don’t think I’m far off but I hope I can play as many more games to help me get there as quick as possible.

“The knee feels pretty good. In the last 10 minutes, I felt my knee was getting a bit stiff but it was nothing serious. Now I need to recover and be ready for the weekend.”

