Tottenham 5 Fulham 1

Ledley King made his long-awaited comeback from injury as Tottenham plunged 10-man Fulham into further relegation trouble with a rout at White Hart Lane.

King has been beset by injuries during the last 18 months - it was Boxing Day last year that he picked up a foot problem and he has had knee surgery and a thigh strain since.

Statistics point to Spurs having a greater chance of victory with their skipper in the team - and defeat did not look a prospect after Robbie Keane and Tom Huddlestone put them ahead before the break.

Keane was the cast as the villain on Saturday for missing a penalty against rivals Arsenal but he added another goal in the second half after Clint Dempsey had pulled one back.

Huddlestone and Jermain Defoe scored to complete the scoring and Moritz Volz was dismissed for Fulham.

But for all for the attacking power of Spurs - it was King in defence that was the talk of north London.

Former Spurs boss Martin Jol bemoaned the fact he was denied King's services for a significant time of his reign.

With a turn in results since Juande Ramos took, King's first appearance of the season offered a late Christmas present for Spurs fans.

He was able to settle back into the defence as Fulham struggled to get behind the hosts - when they did King executed two perfectly-timed tackles on Dempsey in the first half to announce his comeback.

There were a couple of shaky moments but King will probably not have an easier afternoon for the rest of the season.

Dempsey had an early shot that flew over the crossbar but Fulham never looked like ending their miserable away form. It is more than a year since they have won a Premier League game on the road.

Caretaker boss Ray Lewington has tried to implement more of a passing game but Fulham did not look threatening with this approach - Lawrie Sanchez's profile was in the matchday programme and his imprint was all over the team.

There was a lack of intensity for the first part of the clash, and only Spurs midfielder Steed Malbranque distinguished himself as an attacking threat.

Jeered by away fans, the former Fulham midfielder was at the heart of most attacks and helped spark the match into life.

Antti Niemi had to save at full-stretch when Dimitar Berbatov headed Malbranque's cross towards the bottom corner - but Spurs were not made to wait long for their opener, in the 27th minute.

Pascal Chimbonda's header found Malbranque in plenty of space on the edge of the area. His shot crashed off the post and Keane tucked away the rebound with a first-time finish.

Keane has been on an amazing run of form, which all started last season against Fulham in the FA Cup last February. From there he scored 29 goals since in 39 games.

The opener appeared to deflate Fulham and their only promising move before the break saw Simon Davies' shot screw wide towards the corner flag.

Malbranque almost finished off a flowing move from the hosts but could not get power on his header - then the second goal came in first half stoppage-time.

Malbranque's cross was tamed by Berbatov and laid back to Huddlestone. Niemi was unsighted and the midfielder's daisy-cutter deceived him.

Fulham were granted a lifeline on the hour mark when Dempsey bundled in from close range.

Hameur Bouazza, a half-time substitute, had his cross met by Dempsey - his first effort was saved by Paul Robinson but the rebound came off the American's arm and trickled in.

But the two-goal cushion was restored a minute later when Keane tapped in with his knee after Berbatov had flicked on Jamie O'Hara's corner.

Lewington responded by bringing on David Healy for Aaron Hughes, while Berbatov was given a breather and Kevin-Prince Boateng was introduced.

Huddlestone added the fourth with 19 minutes remaining, flicking up Aaron Lennon's pass and volleying into the far post from the edge of the area.

With the points safe, King was then taken off for Adel Taarabt for the rest of the victory.

Volz was dismissed late on for two bookings, then Defoe's goal came when Huddlestone powered through and laid the ball back to the substitute.

• Ramos lifts lid on fitness drive



Juande Ramos has revealed how he slimmed down his Tottenham players to get them out of relegation trouble in the Premier League.


The Spaniard saw the weight of some of his players as a problem when he arrived in October but his regime has seen them coast out of trouble - and they defeated Fulham 5-1 in the early Boxing Day clash.


Tom Huddlestone was one of the players ordered to lose pounds and he showed the results by scoring twice at White Hart Lane.


'We are happy that the team has players that have slimmed down - they are obviously a lot lighter now,' said Ramos. 'The team appreciates this because we needed this to happen.'


Huddlestone in particular has shown progress in the fitness department.


'Tom's weight worried us a lot at the beginning but you could see that he is making a real effort to be fit enough,' said Ramos. 'You can see the results now.


'He was magnificent. His ball control and touch, he's had a really good performance today and he's participated a lot in the match.


'I don't know how much weight Tom has lost but we have it on record.'


Ramos still allowed his players to have turkey on Christmas Day.


'Turkey is a very healthy food and is one of the things that is recommended,' he said. 'It's what goes with it that is different - potatoes and alcohol!'


Despite the attacking power Spurs showed, it was Ledley King's first appearance of the season that gave the home fans the biggest cheer. King has endured a wretched 18 months with injury. It was a year ago that he picked up a foot problem and he has undergone knee surgery since.


'He's still getting better,' said Ramos. 'He's not 100% yet but we needed him to play today because we did not have enough defensive players.


'His performance was good overall and it's obvious he has experience which he has brought to the team. It is good to have him back on the pitch.


'To have a players like Ledley in defence is great because of the international experience he brings and he knows the team very well. Physically he needs to adapt to the rhythm of the matches.


'Tomorrow we will have a look at him and how his knee is getting on. It depends on how he comes out of this game as to whether he can play again during the week.'


Fulham had Moritz Volz dismissed for two yellow cards, and caretaker boss Ray Lewington feels his side lacked a physical edge.


'If they play like that they will get relegated but I hope they won't,' said Lewington. 'Everything that could go wrong went wrong today.


'We are realistic to know that the performance was good either. We've got to put it right.'


Lewington, who will prepare the team for Saturday's clash against Birmingham, has been pleased with the effort of his players but admits the squad may need additional players in January.


'When I was told last week it was a case of getting on with until told someone else is coming,' he said.


'I'm taking it that I am in charge for the weekend, I've organised what we are going to do tomorrow and the day before the game. If they make a change before then, fine. I would have accepted it straight away.'


He added: 'It's easier if you recruit, I'm not saying they necessarily have to. It also depends what other people do.'