Spurs duo hail Terry's focus

John Terry: The centre-back put in a strong performance against Spurs, including a late goal-line block (Getty Images)

Emmanuel Adebayor and Ledley King praised John Terry's mental resilience following Thursday's 1-1 draw between Tottenham and Chelsea.

Despite discovering the previous day that he was to be prosecuted for racism, Terry played with focus and commitment, and made a crucial last-minute block from a goal-bound Adebayor shot.

"I think John Terry showed good personality, great character, he played very well," said Adebayor afterwards.

The current case is not the first time that Terry's behaviour has made headlines and Adebayor believes that his experience has made him more resistant to distractions. "All those things you deal with through experience," Adebayor said. "John Terry, it's not his first problem in his life, or his career, he had a couple of problems already, so I think now he knows how to deal with them."

King, who played for the same club as Terry as a boy, also complimented the Chelsea captain on his focus. "He played well today, as did the rest of them. He's a top player. He's got himself in the right position and saved his team at the end," King said. "He's a strong character and let's his football do the talking out there."

Thursday night's draw keeps Tottenham in third, two points ahead of Chelsea. King added: "I don't remember going into Christmas in such a good position," he said. "We would definitely be disappointed if we did not finish in the top four from here."

Harry Redknapp's fear that he would be without Rafael van der Vaart until the new year is likely to prove unfounded. Van der Vaart was taken off at half-time against Chelsea because of a hamstring problem, but the Dutchman is confident of being able to return against Norwich on Tuesday.