“When I came here, there was a bit of criticism from a few people out there but that is football,” Sissoko told Tottenham's official website
“Sometimes people are behind you, sometimes not so much, but you have to stay strong mentally and keep working hard. That’s what I did.
“So, at the moment I’m very happy. We’re doing well, we’re winning games and climbing the table. I hope we continue doing that.”
Sissoko’s performances in recent matches convinced Didier Deschamps call him for international matches.
Despite playing 45 minutes in two matches for World champions, Sissoko says he was fresh for EPL match against the Blues.
“Every player is different. For me, I was fresh because I didn’t play too much while I was away,” he said.
“In the first game, I played 25 or 30 minutes and in the second match, I came on in the added time, so I was fresh and I didn’t have any problems.
“Maybe for other players it was different but to be fair, we never looked tired, everyone wanted to play and everyone wanted to do well.
“After the international break we’ve come back... it’s never easy but we’ve shown a lot of character. We tried to play from the beginning and I think we deserved the three points.
“I was very happy and very proud with the performance against Chelsea. A derby match is always special, so we really wanted to do well." he added.