The 30-year-old England striker has started all but one Spurs' 17 Premier League games this campaign, scoring nine times and 13 in all competitions. His good form has been reflected by the team, who have won four of their last five matches and sit fourth in the table. Defoe is now hoping the good performances can translate into silverware and Champions League qualification.
"The new manager has come in and he has shown great faith in me," he said.
"He said to me from the beginning, 'I want you to stay at the club, I know you will score goals'.
"It has been fantastic. I have got my chances, I have scored goals.
"I just want to keep it going, keep scoring more goals and help the team achieve something this year." Defoe's fine form has forced fellow forward Emmanuel Adebayor into a bit-part role at White Hart Lane this year. But with the Togo international considering travelling to next month's Africa Cup of Nations, Villas-Boas's dependency on his first-choice forward could soon become even greater. That is good news for Defoe personally, but for the sake of the team, he hopes Adebayor opts to remain with his club. He said:
"Obviously, for us, we want him to stay here and help us to win games.
"At the end of the day, I can't stand here and say he shouldn't go because it is special when you play for your country.
"It is a decision that Ade has to make himself."
Despite being the spearhead of Tottenham's attack this season, Defoe admits that he needs to improve his defensive play after Villas-Boas held a meeting with his squad in a bid to address their susceptibility to conceding late goals. Spurs have shipped 10 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season, a joint-league high along with bottom side Reading. That inability to keep things tight late on has cost them dearly, so much so that if matches had ended after 80 minutes, Tottenham would be top of the league. Defoe added:
"There is no point standing here telling you what was said in the meeting because I would be standing for a long time.
"But it is not just the defenders - it's the whole team. It's that famous saying: defend from the front.
"It is something that has happened and is something that we don't want to continue to happen."
Source: team_talk
