Crouch opened the scoring at White Hart Lane in the 27th minute and David Bentley sealed the win on the hour mark.

In a further boost, Liverpool could only muster a draw at Wolves, leaving Spurs three points ahead of Crouch's former team in the race for a place in the top four.

"I think we deserved to win the game," Crouch told Sky Sports 2. "We had the better chances, we were the better side.

"If you don't score early on you get nervous so I'm glad to have done that, and after the second one we started playing the kind of football we can play.

"Liverpool are a big big team and they're going to be up there come the end of the season so for them to drop points is good news for us."

The match also saw Gareth Bale finally end up on a winning Tottenham side after being named in the starting line-up.

And the Wales full-back admits it is something of a relief following 22 previous starts.

"I'm happy to get that off my back and go on from here," said Bale. "It's one of those freak things but it's in the past now."

mfl

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was disappointed with the defeat and felt his side were unlucky not to get at least a point from the game.

"We dealt with Tottenham's play reasonably well," he told Sky Sports 2. "They're a very talented team.

"We were a bit unlucky with the second goal, it took a cruel deflection.

"And I thought in the second half we certainly definitely evened things out, but to be fair their back four did well, ours did well too

"But with their second goal it meant they could relax a bit more.

"I'm disappointed for the lads."

Bentley was the surprise name on the Tottenham teamsheet as the winger is desperate to leave Spurs.

But he put in a determined performance in his first start since the beginning of December, capped off by a free-kick that flew in off Bjorn Helge Riise, and boss Harry Redknapp was delighted for the 25-year-old.

"Three points for Tottenham, that's the main thing," he said. "We've been been playing well and we've come up against a terrific goalkeeper.

"But we deserved it, we dominated and our keeper didn't have too much to do.

"Bentley did very well, I'm very pleased with him tonight. He's a talented footballer with great ability and he showed that tonight."