Tim Sherwood delighted with 'overwhelming' Aston Villa win at Tottenham

Aston Villa are confident of staying up after beating Tottenham 1-0 at White Hart Lane, according to Tim Sherwood.

The Villa boss was returning to his former club for the first time since being relieved of his duties at the end of last season and marked the occasion in style as Christian Benteke bagged the winner.

Victory moves the Midlands outfit up to 15th in the table and six points above the drop zone, leaving Sherwood to hint that it is almost job done in their bid to survive.

“There is still a lot of hard work to be done but we fancy our chances of staying in this division. That’s the idea,” he said.

Sherwood was full of praise for his players and singled out the attitude of midfielder Carlos Sanchez, who was sent off late on, as a plus point on the day.

“The emotion is overwhelming joy really, for the football club. To come to a tough place like White Hart Lane and get three points is magnificent,” he added.

“Christian's been very, very good. I think Gabby (Agbonlahor) also. Carlos Sanchez today he knows (if) he gets sent off he misses the semi-final, he’s probably never played at Wembley before but he’s sacrificed himself for the club and I want characters like that to be honest.

“The win is the most important thing but it is a sweet victory, you always want to do well when you come back to your old club.”