Team spirit beat dire prospects (6,2,5)
I believe the answer is:
esprit de corps
'team spirit' is the definition.
('esprit de corps' can be a synonym of 'team spirit')
'beat dire prospects' is the wordplay.
'beat' indicates anagramming the letters.
'dire'+'prospects'='direprospects'
'direprospects' is an anagram of 'ESPRIT DE CORPS'.
(Other definitions for esprit de corps that I've seen before include "Collective feeling of pride" , "loyalty to organisation" , "Dire prospects (anag.)" , "Pride within a group" , "camaraderie" .)