Spurs star: Life has never been better at Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur's Jermain Defoe

By Ben Pearce, Tottenham correspondent Wednesday, March 6, 2013
3:00 PM

Jermain Defoe says life has never been better at Tottenham, with Spurs sitting third in the Premier League and eyeing an epic European clash with Inter Milan.

Defoe has spent more than eight years at White Hart Lane over two spells, sandwiching his year with Portsmouth from 2008 to 2009, and has played over 300 games for the Lilywhites.

He believes the current Tottenham squad is the best he has been involved with, and he also feels the atmosphere at the club has never been better.

“I’ve been here for many years now and, in terms of team spirit, I think it’s the best it’s been,” said Defoe. “Everyone’s buzzing around the training ground.

“There’s just that feel, that winning mentality that I think we’ve got now. In games when things aren’t going great, everyone gets stuck in and we keep going. It’s a good thing to have, it’s important to have that.

“We’ve got good competition, which is always healthy and it’s just a great time to be at the club. We’re playing with great players and the sky’s the limit.

“I think it’s probably the best squad since I’ve been here. I was having a joke with Scott Parker and we were saying that sometimes, if you’ve got a little knock and there are times when you can’t train, you’ve just got to stay on it and stay fit and ready. If you’re not, and you pick up an injury and you’re out of the squad, then someone else will come in and do well because it’s such a good team to play in.

“The players who played at the weekend [against Arsenal] are players that can maybe walk into other top teams in the Premier League. It’s great for everyone, you know that when you’ve got the opportunity you’ve got to play well.

“Everyone’s buzzing at the moment, everyone’s looking forward to the next game. It’s just a good time to be here.”

Defoe is set to start against Inter Milan at the Lane, having replaced the injured Emmanuel Adebayor in Sunday’s north London derby.

Andre Villas-Boas has reported that Adebayor hyper-extended his knee and only has a “slight chance” of being involved – although he should be fit to face Liverpool on Sunday.

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