Sherwood hails Spurs win

Three points were gained and one was made by Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood who returned to Tottenham Hotspur and offered a reminder of his talents to his former employers with a 1-0 victory on Saturday.

As well as helping Villa take a further step towards Premier League safety, Sherwood's return to White Hart Lane for the first time since losing his job 11 months ago will have had many Spurs fans wondering whether the club made the right decision.

Coincidentally, Sherwood's last game in charge of Spurs was a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, bringing to a close a six-month spell in charge when his outspoken honesty found favour with many Spurs fans.

Sherwood arguably fell foul of the north London club's sky-high expectations, but seems to bear no hostility towards Tottenham for his sacking.

"Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy made the decision (to sack me) based on what he thought was the right thing to do," Sherwood told the BBC.

"Mauricio Pochettino is doing a good job. Without Spurs giving me the job last year, I wouldn't have been here today to enjoy this win...

"It's a fantastic result for me and Aston Villa."

Christian Benteke's first-half goal dealt a potentially terminal blow to Tottenham's lingering hopes of a top-four finish, leaving the hosts with little to play for in the remaining six games of the season.

Villa, however, are still in a dog fight to avoid the drop, but with renewed vigour and purpose since Sherwood, an animated touchline prowler, took over from Paul Lambert in February.

Benteke's goal arrived in the 35th minute, with the Belgian rising high in the box to head Leandro Bacuna's cross powerfully into the net.

It was the powerhouse striker's eighth goal in his last six games, a timely return to form after looking a pale shadow of his best in his first four months back in action after returning in October from a ruptured Achilles.

"The club weren't creating chances for Christian Benteke before I arrived," Sherwood said.

"It's about conserving his energy, keeping him high up the field and using him to penetrate teams. The shackles are off him now."

Villa's resurgence will be put to the test again next weekend when they face Liverpool in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley.