Defoe: Spurs can maintain top-four push

JERMAIN DEFOE insists Tottenham will not bottle their Barclays Premier League top-four challenge as they reach a crucial point of the season.

Spurs are currently fourth in the table and have five games in the next 16 days, starting with the midweek visit of Fulham to White Hart Lane tonight.

Defeat at Liverpool last week, along with draws against Hull and Leeds in the FA Cup, have raised questions whether Harry Redknapp’s side will sustain their campaign for Champions League football.

“That is part and parcel of playing at the top level,” said Defoe. “You are going to get that pressure. We’ve set that standard now and especially playing at home, teams are going to sit in and make it difficult for us.

“It’s important to keep focused. The spirit has always been good but at this stage it’s important to stay focused. I truly believe everything will be okay.”

Defoe, when asked if the next games could define Spurs’ season, added: “I think that’s right. It is a lot of games but if you prepare right it should be okay.”

Roy Hodgson is feeling positive about his attacking options again after Fulham showed they have plenty of strength in reserve.

Fulham have had to endure a terrible run of luck with injuries over recent weeks, with leading scorer Bobby Zamora breaking his collarbone against Stoke in the first week of the new year and Clint Dempsey sustaining knee ligament damage at Blackburn in their next fixture.

Andy Johnson made his first start for almost three months in the FA Cup third round against Swindon, only to be forced out of Saturday’s fourth-round tie at Accrington Stanley with a knee problem. Hodgson’s resources have been severely stretched, but the trip to the Crown Ground showed that he still has other decent options, with the likes of Bjorn Helge Riise and David Elm playing their part in Fulham’s 3-1 victory.

Fit-again Diomansy Kamara and Simon Davies were also on the team-sheet as unused substitutes, and with Zamora nearing a return to fitness ahead of tonight’s trip to White Hart Lane, Hodgson believes things are looking up again.

“We’re missing several players from the team that finished seventh last season,” Hodgson said.

“(But) there are a lot of first-team players that we can recover as early as Tuesday so I’m pleased we got through the game (on Saturday).

“I’m pleased that people like Bjorn Helge Riise and David Elm got their chance.

“They’re going to need this type of experience and practice because for a long time they’ve been sitting on the sidelines watching other people play.”