Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has declared that he is happy with Tom Huddlestone's recent performances.

Huddlestone came close to joining Stoke City on loan during the close season but eventually stayed at White Hart Lane after failing a medical.

Villas-Boas had admitted that the midfielder's desire to fight for a first-team place has been a pleasant surprise.

He told reporters: "Tom is a good story to tell, bearing in mind the injury he had and the amount of time he has had out. It is so good to see him play four games in 10 days.

"Hopefully we can bring him back to the level that he was at and the expectation of the talent that he can be. The way he has settled in the team and assumed responsibility, for a player who was out for so much time and to play this amount of games in such a short time, is all credit to him.

"In the summer we made that possibility for him to go to Stoke to give him more time to be back to that match fitness. Fortunately for him things have worked out and he has battled his way into the team."

Huddlestone has played four successive games for Spurs in all competitions due to the absence of Moussa Dembele and Scott Parker.