Tottenham defender Michael Dawson hails squad's spirit after win at Aston Villa

Tottenham star Michael Dawson believes victory at Aston Villa with 10 men showed how much spirit there is in the camp.Jermain Defoe was sent off after 28 minutes at Villa Park, but Spurs claimed a crucial 2-1 win courtesy of two goals from Rafael van der Vaart.'We had to play with two banks of four with Rafa up front for so long and that just shows the spirit we've got,' said Dawson. Case for the defence: Michael Dawson competes for the ball with Aston Villa's Carlos Cuellar'The manager said at half-time that we had to keep going and doing the same as we had been doing.'We kept the ball well, especially five minutes before the end of the first half, but we didn't keep it as well in the second half.'We showed the spirit and that was the main thing.'Tottenham moved within a point of their London rivals Chelsea with victory, and are well placed for another assault on a top four finish in the New Year.Dawson told the club's website: 'The squad we have is fantastic. We are going places.'When you go down to 10 men at Villa and get three points that is a good sign.' Villa 1 Tottenham 2: Brilliant Van der Vaart at the double for ten-man SpursSpurs boss Redknapp will pull out all the stops to sign Villa ace YoungTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC

Source: Daily_Mail