Tim Sherwood dropped points on the road for the first time as Tottenham manager but insisted the 1-1 Barclays Premier League draw at Hull could yet prove a "very important" result for his Champions League chasers.
After overseeing victories at Southampton, Manchester United and Swansea, Sherwood was unable to add Steve Bruce's Tigers to the list, with returning midfielder Paulinho instead rescuing a draw following Shane Long's 12th-minute opener.
Spurs fans may rue a missed opportunity given Hull's struggles in 2014 - four league defeats and no goals prior to this fixture - but Sherwood was not expecting an easy ride.
Liverpool lost 3-1 at the KC Stadium in December and Manchester United went two goals down before winning on Boxing Day, leaving the Tottenham boss content with his side's showing.
"I expected it to be tough. We've seen some top teams come here and struggle this season. They're very capable," said Sherwood.
"But one thing was certain today: if we weren't going to win, we certainly weren't going to lose.
"At the end of the season this could turn out to be a very important point for both sides.
"It was a poor start to the game for us, to concede so early, but I wasn't panicking. There was plenty of time and we grew into it.
"In the latter part of the first half and then the second half we started to dominate, we rolled the ball into (Emmanuel) Adebayor and (Roberto) Soldado in and around the box and looked like we were going to score."
Spurs had threatened to equalise on a number of occasions before Paulinho marked his comeback from a month of ankle problems with a powerful finish from 18 yards, capping an impressive all-round performance in the middle of the park.
Sherwood, who has had limited use of the Brazilian since taking the reins from Andre Villas-Boas, added: "We got back into it with a great goal from Paulinho.
"He's been out for a while but he showed us he's a fantastic player."
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