Adebayor stops the jangling of nerves

Nerves were settled and confidence restored at White Hart Lane as Tottenham pulled themselves out of the nosedive that had threatened their Champions League ambitions and regained the initiative in the battle to finish third.

Twenty-four hours after Arsenal had unexpectedly tripped up at Queens Park Rangers, two goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and one from Rafael van der Vaart secured a first league victory in six games for Harry Redknapp’s side.

Only goal difference separates Tottenham from their third-placed rivals, who face a more daunting run-in, while Redknapp’s team maintained the five-point advantage over Chelsea, who lie fifth. On the evidence of the weekend, the momentum has shifted back in Tottenham’s favour and while the manager insisted he had been unconcerned by a sequence of disappointing results since they last claimed three points on February 11, it was impossible to ignore the sense of relief this victory brought.