Jermain Defoe spoke of his pride at overtaking Teddy Sheringham in the Tottenham record books after scoring a fine hat-trick in Thursday night's Europa League demolition of Maribor.
Defoe scored all three goals in the 3-1 win which puts Spurs within one victory of qualifying from Group J with one match to spare. The hat-trick, his first in a Spurs shirt since February 2010, means he now has 126 goals for the north London club - two more than Tottenham icon Sheringham, who he idolised when he was growing up.
"That's special on a personal note as Teddy was a player I watched as a kid," Defoe told ITV. "He was a great player for club and country. It was amazing (to score a hat-trick). As a forward you get judged on scoring goals. It's the best thing in the world but it was important we won the game tonight."
Andre Villas-Boas paired Defoe with Emmanuel Adebayor from the start for the first time this season and the move worked well, with the duo combining well throughout.
Gareth Bale also played a big part in Defoe's excellent display, the Welshman providing the assists for the striker's first and last goals.
Villas-Boas showered praise on Defoe afterwards.
"He was amazing," the Spurs boss said. "It's important for him because he overtakes Teddy Sheringham's record in the club, which means a lot.
"It was good to see (Defoe play with Adebayor). It is important for us to have this option. It was good to see us use this system.
"He (Defoe) makes the most of the opportunities he gets.
"Gareth was amazing for him and when you have so much quality in the link-up you have the possibility to score and he's a good goalscorer."
Source: PA
