Spurs stretched their unbeaten run to six matches yesterday afternoon by registering a 2-1 win at Blackburn which came courtesy of two Van der Vaart goals. The club have now lost just once - against Stoke in the Carling Cup - since the 5-1 defeat to Manchester City on August 28, and their task has been made hard by injuries to their first-choice centre-half pairing from last year of William Gallas and Michael Dawson. Both players are out long-term with respective calf and Achilles injuries, while Ledley King has suffered another groin problem, leaving Younes Kaboul and Sebastien Bassong as the club's only two fit central defenders. Kaboul in particular has been widely praised for his displays this term by manager Harry Redknapp, and Van der Vaart thinks the Frenchman did a good job in stifling a fierce aerial bombardment from their physical opponents at Ewood Park on Sunday. "When you score you're always in the headlines, but I think the defenders were amazing. This season they've been unbelievable for us," Van der Vaart told Spurs TV Online. "It's my second time here (at Ewood Park), they play with throw-ins, corner kicks and long balls, it's really difficult to win here. It's a massive compliment to the boys that we did." Redknapp could still be without King and Vedran Corluka (foot), who can also play in central defence, for Sunday's game against QPR, which is followed by the club's Europa League visit to Rubin Kazan. The Spurs boss was happy to see Kaboul and Bassong deal well with the threat that big Rovers centre back Chris Samba posed. "Kaboul is a fantastic header of the ball, but today he had it all on his plate with Samba, who is as good as I have seen," Redknapp said. "For getting his head on the ball and getting into your box, he is amazing. They have got three or four great, big lads and him, and he heads every ball. "Big Samba goes up, gets on the end of it and you are fighting for your lives." Bassong was making his first Barclays Premier League start of the season having spent most of his time on the pitch this year in the club's Europa League campaign, where he has been captain. The Cameroon defender saw a potential move to QPR fall through this summer and has recently admitted that he could leave White Hart Lane in January if Neil Warnock made another bid for him. For now, however, he is happy getting a run in the first team playing alongside Kaboul. "We are happy to play together, especially when we win," Bassong said. "I now wish we play together and keep winning. "I love to play alongside Younes. He is a terrific player. He has everything. He is a French international player. He is worth it." Kaboul, meanwhile, is impressed with the way Bassong has slotted in to the team. "I am happy for him," the former Portsmouth defender said. "He is in great form and we need that. He is doing the job every time he plays and he is a strong lad so we can trust him 100 per cent. There is no doubt about that."
