Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion
The FA Cup, Third Round
White Hart Lane
08 January 2005

Jermain Defoe believes the pain of being knocked out of the Carling Cup could drive Tottenham to lift The FA Cup.

The Spurs striker admits the whole club was devastated when they were knocked out of the League Cup by Liverpool earlier in the season after a penalty shoot-out.

And he insists the only way for them to overcome the setback is to set their sights on the biggest domestic cup competition of all.

Tottenham have turned around their form over the past month and have pushed themselves towards the top end of the Premiership.

Defoe now hopes the momentum can help them through a tricky match against Brighton and set them on the road to the Millennium Stadium.

Defoe said: "It was really frustrating to go out of the Carling Cup to Liverpool. I thought we were the better side but obviously it was difficult once it went down to penalties because anything can happen.

"I guess it was just bad luck at the end of the day but now we have definitely got our eyes on The FA Cup and I think we have definitely got to go for it.

"We haven't won a trophy for a number of years and if we could get our hands on the Cup it would be great."

Meanwhile, Brighton defender Guy Butters can not wait to return to his former club for the Third Round clash.

Butters began his career at White Hart Lane, before moving to Portsmouth in 1990. And he admits the opportunity to play at Spurs again is a dream come true for him.

Butters, 35, said: "Everyone wanted a Premiership club to generate money for the club and test ourselves against the best players.

"When Man United and Arsenal came out of the hat I was praying it would be us, but then we got Tottenham and that was a bonus for me!

"All the pressure will be on them because they're a big club. But our away form is pretty good so it should be an interesting game."