Keane puts Spurs back on track

Tottenham 4 Middlesbrough

Brilliance should perhaps be greeted with rapture rather than relief, but even after a performance run through with moments of excellence, Tottenham are far from safe. They are four points clear of the relegation zone, but for all the verve of their passing last night, for all the comfort of the victory, they have only kept their heads above water.

"It's another good performance," said the Spurs manager, Harry Redknapp. "We've been in good form. It's still very tight but it pushes us up a bit. There's about 12 teams in it still."

This is a season in which every side is showing a marked reluctance to die, but after the high of Saturday's win over Liverpool, Middlesbrough perhaps are beginning to sink. "We were poor defensively," said their manager, Gareth Southgate. "It was an open game, which we didn't want because Tottenham have got better footballers than we have."

Tuncay Sanli, perhaps, is the exception to that, and in a typically bright and intelligent display, he hit the post and had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside (and one for an obvious one).

Going forward, Spurs looked irresistible – or at least, Middlesbrough looked incapable of resisting them, which is not quite the same thing.

Given room in which to play, Aaron Lennon, Luka Modric and Robbie Keane were all superb. "Aaron's in fantastic form," Redknapp said. "He's absolutely flying. He must have a good chance of getting in the next England squad. He's got all the equipment. His final ball is still the thing he needs to improve on, but it's getting better."

Really, though, this was Keane's night. He scored the opener – his first since his return to Tottenham from Liverpool, his first since Boxing Day, and his first for Spurs since last May – with a tap-in after Michael Dawson had flicked on Modric's corner. He also had a hand in the other three.

Five minutes before half-time and 11 minutes from the end, it was from his through balls that Lennon took his recent record to four goals in six games. The goal that will live on in the memory, though, was the second, and that was all about Modric.

There are still those who doubt he can cope amid the hurly-burly of the Premier League, but his touch and imagination can take the breath away. At times he is an almost ethereal figure. His balance is such that he does not even have to touch the ball to embarrass defenders, as he showed on 14 minutes, spinning away from Keane's pass.

Robert Huth, cast in the role of lumbering fall guy, bought the dummy, and was left desperately clutching at nothing, like a cartoon character realising all too late that he had run off the end of the cliff. On went Modric and squared for Roman Pavlyuchenko, who added a bludgeoning punchline to the subtle set-up with a characteristically uncompromising finish.

Southgate, though, was in no mood to appreciate the aesthetics. "We have to apologise to our fans," he said. "We have to bear in mind that we owe them a performance. In the long run, tonight might do us good.

"We'll have to go back to basics again. We came here in good spirits; possibly we were too buoyant. It's a big blow, but we've had plenty of those. It's how we respond now. Sometimes players can have an off-night and, hopefully, that's what it's been tonight."

Tottenham, by contrast, will be hoping this wasn't just one of those games where their players had an on-night. Redknapp still believes three more wins will see his side safe, but they are certainly not out of danger yet. Middlesbrough are deep in it.

Goals: Keane (9) 1-0; Pavlyuchenko (14) 2-0; Lennon (40) 3-0; Lennon (79) 4-0.

Tottenham (4-4-2): Gomes; Zokora, Dawson, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Palacios, Jenas (Huddlestone, 63), Modric (O'Hara, 72); Keane, Pavlyuchenko (Bent, 52). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Bentley, Chimbonda, Corluka.

Middlesbrough (4-2-3-1): Jones; Hoyte (Johnson, 69), Wheater, Huth (Taylor, h-t), Pogatetz; Arca, Bates; O'Neil, Downing, Sanli; Aliadière (King, 52). Substitutes not used: Turnbull (gk), Emnes, Alves, Walker.

Referee: H Webb (South Yorkshire).

Booked: Middlesbrough: Pogatetz.

Man of the match: Keane.

Attendance: 35,761.