Dele Alli insists he is trying to curb his heated reactions towards opponents

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli insists he will not change his aggressive nature in games, but is working to curb his heated reactions.

Alli earned a three-match ban by UEFA last week for his sending-off offence against Gent in the Europa League - a high tackle after being frustrated to lose possession.

It is not the first time Alli has been banned for reacting to an opponent; he was given a three-match retrospective suspension for a punch on West Brom's Claudio Yacob last season.

"There's been a lot said about me and my aggression but I think, to be honest, it's not something I'm going to look to change," he said after another successful international break with England.

"That's the player I am, I've always been like that since I was younger. It's about getting it under control and I think I've been doing that. But you have to be prepared to fight, to challenge and to get challenged.

"I've got to keep improving and learning; not to play with less aggression but how I react in different situations. It's something I am looking to improve. I have been working on it, hopefully people can see that.

"Sometimes it can benefit the team if players dive in. If it's going to help the team and get us free-kicks, I don't mind it."

Dele Alli was sent off for a high challenge against Gent last month

Alli says he was "grateful" not to have hurt Gent defender Brecht Dejaegere at Wembley on February 23, especially given what has happened to Everton's Seamus Coleman over the weekend.

The Republic of Ireland captain suffered a double leg break following a tackle from Wales' Neil Taylor. FIFA will pay Coleman's wages while he recovers from the injury.

"It was a horrible moment for me; something I've learned from straight away," Alli added. "I felt horrible after the game and I'm just grateful that nothing happened to him [Dejaegere].

"It's a shame to hear players getting injured like that. I feel sorry for Seamus and I wish him a speedy recovery. Like I say, I'm sure the guy [Taylor] didn't mean to do that. He definitely wouldn't have meant to injure the player.

"Like my tackle; I felt I was relieved that nothing bad happened to the player. I didn't go in to hurt the player, I went in for the ball but sometimes it can look a lot worse than what happened in your head."