Adebayor brace propels Tottenham

Christian Eriksen deflected some of the spotlight away from Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood with two assists and a goal in his side's 5-1 hammering of relegation-haunted Sunderland in the Premier League on Monday.

With reports suggesting Sherwood's job was in jeopardy after recent woeful performances, Tottenham responded in style, recovering from going down to sweep aside a demoralised Sunderland who remain rooted to the foot of the table.

Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice with Harry Kane also on target at home but it was Denmark's Eriksen who was instrumental in reviving Tottenham's flickering hopes of finishing in the top four.

Victory lifted Tottenham back above Manchester United into sixth place although they remain five points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with five matches remaining and four behind Everton who also have a game in hand.

“I would rather talk about the game," Sherwood, who was given an 18-month contract in December when he stepped up from coaching the Under-18s to replace sacked Andre Villas-Boas, told Sky  Sports. "I can't comment on anything regarding my employment to be honest, you'll have to ask my employers about that, but as far as I'm concerned I set the team out well tonight and we outplayed Sunderland and done the job well tonight.

Sunderland were gifted a 17th minute lead when Lee Cattermole shot home his first goal for the club in four years after a defensive mix-up involving Hugo Lloris and Vlad Chiriches.
It briefly raised hopes they could begin a great escape but by the end of the game the north east side looked resigned to their fate, seven points behind fourth from bottom Norwich City albeit with two games in hand. With Eriksen - one of a raft of big-money signings for Spurs this season - pulling the strings in midfield, the hosts responded with Adebayor bundling in Eriksen's cross after 28 minutes to send the sides in level at halftime. Kane put Tottenham ahead on the hour, stealing in to convert another lethal Eriksen delivery before Eriksen made the points safe with a shot that deflected off Phil Bardsley past Vito Mannone.