Berbatov backed to make league impact

Tottenham boss Martin Jol believes Dimitar Berbatov will take his European form into the Barclays Premiership after firing his side into the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup.

Bulgaria striker Berbatov, 25, scored the winner against his former club Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday night to maintain Tottenham's 100% record in Europe's second-tier competition. It was his fourth UEFA Cup goal and he has only struck once in domestic competition, but Jol is confident his £10.9m summer signing is adapting.

"It's a matter of time," said Jol. "Every time we play in Europe he is outstanding. In the league he's not as good yet but he has all the talent - we are pretty confident he will be the same player he was in Germany for his last two or three seasons over here."

Berbatov tapped in after 35 minutes at the BayArena, the stadium where he earned a fearsome reputation when he played in the German league.

He took little pleasure, however, from the goal because of his affinity with Leverkusen fans, and he barely acknowledged his simple finish, following up an Aaron Lennon shot.

"It was hard for the club but it was even harder for me," said Berbatov, who was substituted with 13 minutes remaining to a standing ovation from both sets of fans.

"That is why I didn't celebrate my goal. The crowd here have always been special to me and it was very flattering to hear them applaud me off the pitch."

In keeping with the mixed start to his Tottenham career, Berbatov also missed an open goal in the second half but had the better of his clash with former team-mate Juan.

Jol added: "He played here for five years and was a young guy when he came over, so he was a bit sensitive.

"He said Juan knew him very well so I said maybe he could come up with some new tricks. He could have scored a bit more and in a couple of situations he was selfish in front of goal, it was a night for four or five goals."