Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe scored five times to send his side back into the Champions League places as Harry Redknapp's men threatened to rack up double figures against Wigan Athletic at White Hart Lane.

Paul Scharner appeared to handle when he grabbed Wigan's goal but there was no handball controversy as Defoe was in such rampant form, with Aaron Lennon, Peter Crouch, David Bentley and Niko Kranjcar grabbing the other goals.

The match was played on a Sunday following an agreement between the clubs so players could rest after the international break - and Defoe seemed the freshest of the players on display by grabbing his goals in the second half.

Tottenham striker Crouch offered a couple of early warnings before his ninth minute opener, the first seeing him stab side when Lennon drilled a cross from the right after immediately being part of the action on his comeback.

He also headed over at the near post after another cross from the same flank, this time from Palacios - but the former Portsmouth striker made no mistake with his third effort.

Palacios started the ninth-minute move by feeding Lennon on the right, with the England winger sending over a gorgeous cross between goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and centre-back Titus Bramble. Crouch was at the back post to head home.

Lennon almost added a second immediately after creating the opener, forcing Kirkland to save his volley on the rebound after Emmerson Boyce cleared off the line to deny Jermain Defoe.

Kirkland also saved from Palacios at full stretch after a 25-yard drive, while Wigan's response was a volley from Mohamed Diame that flew wide.

Wigan had not won in London since 2006 when they defeated West Ham - and the threat Spurs posed meant it appeared unlikely they would break that run. Tom Huddlestone was the next to go close, with a drive that shaved Kirkland's post.

The visitors, however, kept looking for the counter-attack and Jason Scotland forced Heurelho Gomes to save at his near post after former Spurs full-back Erik Edman fed him the ball on the edge of the area. Charles N'Zogbia also went just over with a curling effort and got closer with a free-kick.

Before the break, Defoe raced onto Niko Kranjcar's reverse ball and saw his finish tipped onto the crossbar by Kirkland. The England striker also had another powerful effort turned over by the goalkeeper.

Defoe scored his first two goals within three minutes of each other just after the restart.

The first came from another Lennon cross, with Defoe getting in front of Bramble and crashing his finish into the roof of the net. His second strike came after Palacios' ball forward was totally missed by Emmerson Boyce, with Defoe keeping his cool to slot in at the far post.

Then came Scharner's moment of controversy. Hugo Rodallega crossed the ball from the left and the Austrian midfielder used his hand to control before lashing past Gomes and into the roof of the net.

But Defoe restored the three-goal cushion with his hat-trick straight away to make it 4-1.

Lennon crossed again and this time Defoe volleyed home at the near post, meaning he wrapped up his treble in just seven minutes - still short of Robbie Fowler's record when the Liverpool favourite struck in under five.

Lennon added the fifth himself after Crouch smuggled the ball out to his team-mate from a congested penalty area, with the winger angling his finish into the far post.

Defoe, in full flow now and demanding the ball, grabbed his fourth 21 minutes from the end by latching on to Vedran Corluka's ball and firing home off the post.

His fifth and Tottenham's seventh came after a mistake by Edman, with Defoe finishing through Kirkland's legs.

Bentley's free-kick accounted for the eighth, with his effort going in off the bar. Kranjcar's goal, the ninth, also went in off the woodwork.