Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas is confident his side can hold on to a top-four position in the Premier League for the rest of the season despite suffering a third successive defeat.

A goal early in the second half from Dimitar Berbatov was enough to earn Fulham a rare away win on Sunday, as Spurs slipped one place to fourth.

The 1-0 defeat added to reverses at Liverpool in the Premier League and Inter Milan in the Europa League, although Spurs still managed to progress in the latter competition on away goals.

Spurs would have moved to within two points of second-place Manchester City had they won, but they have now been overtaken by Chelsea, which won 2-0 at home to West Ham United.

Tottenham is also just four points ahead of Arsenal, which has a game in hand. A 2-1 derby success on March 3 had given Villas-Boas' side a 10-point advantage over its north London rival.

Arsenal managed to overtake Tottenham from a similar position last season, when Harry Redknapp was in charge at White Hart Lane, but Villas-Boas believes he can prevent history from repeating itself.

"You can't hide from what has happened in the past at Spurs," he said. "But you do have an opportunity to fight it. Whatever is written about the past is fine, we just have to make sure we fight against it."

(China Daily 03/19/2013 page22)