Defoe targets Champions League and Golden Boot after five-star blast
23 Nov 2009 - 15:09:15
Jermain Defoe believes he can finish at the top of the Premier League scoring chart this season - and fire Tottenham into the Champions League in the process.
The England striker scored five goals in Spurs' 9-1 drubbing of Wigan Athletic at White Hart Lane on Sunday, becoming only the fourth Spurs player to hit five in a single game and only the third after Alan Shearer and Andy Cole to achieve the feat since the Premier League began in 1992.
Deadly: Jermain Defoe volleys home the first of his stunning five-goal haul against Wigan on Sunday
HAVE YOUR SAY... Who is the Premier League's best finisher? Harry Redknapp has described his Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe as the best finisher in the Barclays Premier League after his five goals in the 9-1 drubbing of Wigan at White Hart Lane. Does England hitman Defoe deserve this acclaim? Or do you think there is another striker in England who is No 1 when it comes to finding the net? TELL US WHAT YOU THINK The achievement took Defoe in front of his goalscoring rivals with 11league goals so far this season and lifted Harry Redknapp's men backinto fourth place - and the 27-year-old is confident of ending thecampaign in the same positions.
He said: 'It would be the first time I'd won the Golden Boot, so I'd like to do it this year.'
And on the subject of playing at the highest level with Spurs, Defoeadded: 'I always watch Champions League games on television. It'sanother competition where you're playing against the best and I'd beplaying against the best defenders in the world. It's a greattournament.
'That is the pressure you want as aprofessional. All the best athletes and players over the years thriveon that pressure and cannot wait for the next game to arrive.'
Defoealso admitted that the stunning five-goal haul against Wigan wasrepayment to his team-mates after he was sent off in a 2-1 win at hisformer club Portsmouth recently.
On the ball: Defoe celebrates with the matchball at the end of the game
Spurs lost two of the three games Defoe was suspended for, and the striker proved on Sunday that his presence adds a prolific threat to their attack, with all five goals coming in a remarkable 36-minute second half spell.
He said: 'It was important to come back like this because I owed something to the team. It was stupid and I shouldn't have got sent off.
"When I got sent off I knew what I had done straight away and it was out of character. I can't remember the last time I was booked.'
Red-faced: Defoe admits he owed his team-mates after being sent off at Portsmouth last month
Harry Redknapp's rant lifts Spurs to record spree as Jermain Defoe hits fiveTottenham 9 Wigan 1: 5-star Defoe's deadly show crushes sorry Latics at White Hart Lane Spurs, United, Arsenal and Newcastle - the biggest Premier League winsHave your say - who is the Premier League's best finisher?TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC
