Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has praised Jermain Defoe after the striker scored a hat-trick during Thursday's 3-1 win over Maribor in the Europa League.

Defoe's treble against the Slovenians at White Hart Lane gave Spurs their first victory in this season's competition.

"He makes the most of the opportunities that he gets and Gareth [Bale] was amazing in his creation of the chances for him," said Villas-Boas.

"When you have so much quality, you will always get opportunities to score, and Jermain is a clinical striker."

Thursday's showing in front of goal saw Defoe overtake Teddy Sheringham as the eighth-highest scorer in the club's history.