Tottenham 4-0 Middlesbrough

Harry Redknapp spoke this week about how a quirk of the fixture list could make or break a team's season. If that is the case, then the Premier League schedule certainly smiled on Tottenham by presenting them with a home game against Middlesbrough at this stage of their campaign.

After their defeat on penalties by Manchester United in the Carling Cup Final three days earlier, some supporters were worried that Spurs would be there for the taking. But against a Boro side who were so feeble after a relatively bright start, Redknapp's team may still have won had this game begun an hour after their Wembley disappointment.

Redknapp complained bitterly last week that his team would be forced to play five games in 13 days - this one was their fourth in that period - but it has actually worked in his favour. Winger Aaron Lennon, who scored twice, admitted that having another match so soon after Wembley had taken the players' minds away from their failure.

As he looks ahead to Saturday's trip to Sunderland, where a victory would haul Spurs seven points clear of the relegation zone, Redknapp may wonder why he cannot make every area of his team work at the same time.

Against Boro, who have now lost 10 League matches away from home, Spurs played some superb attacking football, with Lennon, Robbie Keane and Luka Modric combining well. Keane struck his first goal since returning to the club from Liverpool in January but also had a major influence in the second, scored by Roman Pavlyuchenko, and the third and fourth, which Lennon finished.

With Ledley King sidelined due to his persistent knee problems, Spurs did look shaky in defence early on. In only the third minute, Jonathan Woodgate gave the ball away to Spurs transfer target Stewart Downing on the edge of the penalty area, enabling Downing to fire in a low shot which Heurelho Gomes only just saved.

And with Spurs leading 1-0, Tuncay Sanli was allowed to run between Woodgate and Michael Dawson to collect a long pass and put the ball in the net, only to see his effort ruled out for offside.

Attacking style compromised by a lack of defensive steel might seem a familiar story for Spurs, yet it was the complete opposite against United. Apart from through Lennon and Modric, Spurs were rarely threatening going forward, whereas at the back, they were almost faultless.

While such blemishes are unlikely to affect their fight against relegation, they are problems which Redknapp must address next season.

The manager made two unexpected choices for this game, preferring Gomes in goal to Carlo Cudicini, and choosing midfielder Didier Zokora at right-back instead of Vedran Corluka or Pascal Chimbonda. But the most encouraging aspect of the evening for Spurs was the fact that Modric, Keane and Lennon have clearly established an understanding which defences better than Boro's will find it difficult to repel.

With Modric drifting in from the left and Keane dropping deep, the pair were able to exchange a number of neat passes, before unleashing the pace and trickery of Lennon on the right.

The first goal owed much to poor marking, as Modric's corner was flicked on by Dawson towards the far post, where Keane had edged ahead of Justin Hoyte to turn the ball into the empty net in the ninth minute.

Five minutes later, Modric's clever movement allowed him to outwit the hapless Robert Huth before squaring the ball for Pavlyuchenko to score his 13th goal of the season. Lennon's tidy finish five minutes before half-time sealed the points for Spurs.

With England manager Fabio Capello looking on, Lennon maintained his excellent recent form and Redknapp believes the 21-year-old could be recalled for the friendly with Slovakia later this month and the World Cup qualifier with Ukraine on 1 April.

Redknapp said: "He must have a good chance of getting in the next squad if he plays like he is at the moment. Fabio saw him against United and Boro. He's only a kid but he's learning."

Lennon's second made it four in his last six games and took his total for the season to five.

He can expect to become one of the Premier League's most marked men between now and the end of the campaign.