Dele Alli has elected to play down his omission from the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award.

The Spurs winger has been nominated for the Young Player of the Year gong, which he won last year and many felt his current form this season warranted a nomination for the main award.

Among those who were shocked to see the 21-year-old excluded from the shortlist was Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, who said that Alli has 'improved in all aspects of his game.'

Alli however, is not showing any signs of disappointment and is choosing to focus on his progress this season which has yielded 19 club goals and 10 assists.

When asked by Sky Sports how he felt about not making the shortlist, he said he was happy to get nominated for the Young Player of the Year award:

"It's an honour for me to be up there again, and I won it last season. I said last season that I wanted to improve and I think I have as a person, as a player and hopefully I can win it but if I don't, it's still a massive achievement for me."

Spurs host Bournemouth today in the 12.30pm kick-off. Victory today would help Pochettino's side close the gap on league leaders Chelsea, who face Manchester United tomorrow.