Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas was once again full of praise for Gareth Bale after the Welshman inspired his team to a 2-1 win over Swansea City this afternoon.

Bale provided the assist for Tottenham's opener before getting on the scoresheet himself to double his side's lead.

The Welshman also put in a brilliant block in the closing stages to deny Nathan Dyer an equaliser, securing all three points for his side in the process.

Villas-Boas was keen to praise the effort of the whole team, but admitted that it was hard not to acknowledge the individual contribution of Bale.

"When there are so many things that go well for the team it is hard to single out individuals but Gareth is a world-class player offensively and defensively, as he showed when he made the block at the end to prevent Swansea getting a draw," said Villas-Boas.

"But the whole team deserve credit because coming here after two league defeats and playing the way we did is never easy.

"We spoke at half time about trying to get the third goal to put it beyond doubt but we couldn't and they did well to come back. We showed great determination and the winning mentality that surrounds us to come away and hold on for a great win from home and put ourselves back on track."

The win lifts Spurs up to third in the Premier League table, two points clear of third-placed Chelsea.