Villas-Boas hails Lambert's courage

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has hailed the courage of Paul Lambert for the way he dropped Darren Bent and placed his faith in Christian Benteke.

Aston Villa manager Lambert caught many in the game by surprise earlier this season when he decided to drop club record signing Bent and replace him with the little-known Belgian. The decision looked unwise at first, with Benteke struggling in his first few matches, but he has come into a rich vein of form in recent weeks.

And ahead of his side's Boxing Day encounter at Villa Park, Villas-Boas said: "He has been outstanding, for sure. He has eight goals so far. I think he is surprising everybody. To his credit he has come up strong. He has strong competition from Bent."

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