Jermain Defoe seems to be enjoying a new lease of life with the arrival of Andre Villas-Boas as manager of Tottenham Hotspur to replace Harry Redknapp.

“Every player knows his job and if you speak to any of the boys, they speak highly about the boss,” Defoe was reported as saying when asked about the newly-appointed Spurs manager recently.

“What I like about the manager is every game has a different approach. You know exactly how we have to play when we have the ball and when not in possession.”

Defoe, whose half-brother was killed three years ago, has been through some other unhappy episodes this year with the passing away of his father before the Euro 2012 finals and the loss of his younger cousin in an incident while he was on tour with Spurs in the US.

However, despite the off-field upsets, Defoe still managed to keep his con-centration on the field and so far this has been one of his most promising seasons in his career.

Defoe was born on October 7, 1982 in Beckton, London.

He attended the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall, being spotted by Charlton and signed in 1997.

As a 16-year-old, he turned professional with West Ham and went straight into the U-19 team that were crown Premier Academy League champions in 1999-2000. His first-team debut arrived in September 2000 in a League Cup tie against Walsall, scoring the winner in a 1-0 win.

At West Ham he strived to make the grade and was sent on a season-long loan to Bournemouth, scoring in ten consecutive games and taking his total to 18 in 29 appearances.

Back at West Ham, the goals never ceased. He was the club’s top marksman in 2001-02 and that season the Hammers finished seventh. In the year that followed Defoe’s scoring form persisted with a total of 11, yet West Ham were relegated.

Defoe began the 2003-04 season at Upton Park, but in January West Ham had to accept a £6m offer from Tottenham and the striker, who had scored 41 goals in 105 league and cup appearances for the Hammers, made the move to White Hart Lane.

On his debut, a month later, he scored a goal in a 4-3 home victory over Portsmouth.

In his first full season at Spurs, Defoe netted 13 league goals, including a treble in a 5-1 win over Southampton. He complemented his total with a further nine goals in the domestic cups.

In April 2005 he signed a new four-year contract but the arrival of Robbie Keane and Mido and a new manager, Martin Jol, meant Defoe lost his place in the side although in 24 matches he managed nine goals.

In the summer of 2007, Darren Bent arrived at White Hart Lane to add more competition upfront. Defoe’s games were sparse for Spurs and after missing a crucial penalty he was transferred to Portsmouth in January 2008 for £6m.

At Pompey he became the first striker to score in his first five matches for the club but he had to sit out the FA Cup final due to his appearance for Spurs in that same season.

When Redknapp took charge at White Hart Lane he wanted Defoe back at Tottenham and he had to pay the substantial fee of £15.75 million in January 2009 for his signature.

At the first phase of the 2009-10 campaign, Defoe scored his third career hat-trick in the 5-1 win at Hull. Two months later he added a nap-hand in the 9-1 home rout of Wigan.

In a play-off for the Champions League group phase in 2010-11, Defoe netted against Young Boys to send Tottenham through.

Defoe faced his toughest season for goals in 2010-11 and only got his first in March against Wolves.

In the match that followed, against West Brom, he scored his 100th career goal in his 100th Premier League match for Spurs.

This season, Defoe reached another milestone in the 2-4 loss to Chelsea, netting his 200th goal in club football.

England career

After a significant career in the U-21s, Defoe won his first full cap for England under Sven-Goran Eriksson in an away friendly against Sweden on March 31, 2004.

His first England goal came in a World Cup qualifying match in Poland in September 2004 – a 2-1 win.

Defoe played in the World Cup finals of 2010, scoring a goal against Slovenia that ensured England reached the last 16.

He also scored his first hat-trick for England during a Euro 2012 qualifying victory over Bulgaria in September that year.

The Tottenham striker has 52 caps for the national team and scored 17 goals in the process.