• Premier League

Villas-Boas expects Spurs resurgence

Spurs lost for the third successive time on Saturday © PA Photos

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Andre Villas-Boas is confident Tottenham can get their season back on track following their third consecutive Premier League defeat on Saturday.

Spurs failed to take the chance to close the gap on their top-four rivals and the 5-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium puts them under pressure to grab three points against West Ham next weekend.

Emmanuel Adebayor will miss three weeks after receiving a straight red card for his tackle on Santi Cazorla, raising doubts over Tottenham's attacking threat. But Villas-Boas believes Jermain Defoe will be able continue his goalscoring form.

"Do we have enough firepower? Yes," he said. "We have one of the league's top scorers in Jermain Defoe.

"Obviously recently we have been playing with Ade and he's been excellent, so we understand tthat he's one less option, one very important player, but we have to adapt without him.

"Ade and Defoe have flourished well in the past and they know each other very well so to not have that will be hard to take. But the good thing is that the games against West Ham, Liverpool and Fulham are in one week so the player can be back quickly."

The Tottenham boss refused to concede that his side were outplayed by Arsenal on the weekend, praising Spurs' fighting spirit after going three goals behind.

"It was a game that went well for us so we are proud of our players," Villas-Boas said. "Obviously, at 3-1 with ten men, you have nothing to lose, so you have to have a go and I think they incarnated that spirit, particularly after the 4-1, where they never put their arms down.

"I think the fans should be proud of the players. There can't be a booing situation when the players play with this passion and emotion and a desire to invert things.

"Our league position isn't good at the moment but it doesn't mean we can't turn it around. When you're poor, it can do damage, but when you play like we did against Arsenal I don't think it can be."

Villas-Boas is relying on the return of Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Scott Parker and Mousa Dembele as Tottenham attempt to reduce the six-point gap to fourth-placed West Brom.

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