Defoe apologises for Pompey red

Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe apologised for his red card against Portsmouth after getting a dressing down from Harry Redknapp in front of his team-mates in the changing room.

Redknapp was furious when the England striker stamped on Aaron Mokoena in the 2-1 win at Fratton Park after scoring the eventual winner in the Barclays Premier League clash, his 10th this season for club and country.

When asked if the England striker had apologised, Redknapp said: "Yes. He's sorry for what's done. For sure. I gave him a rollicking in front of all the lads, to be fair."

Defoe watched his side cling to their lead but now misses league matches against Stoke and Arsenal as well as the Carling Cup clash against Everton.

Redknapp had seen his player get wound up by Pompey's physical tactics in the first half of the victory where both manager and player faced their former club.

"He can be a bit like that," Redknapp said. "At times, he has to learn to curb that.

"I couldn't have told him more. I sat him down at half-time and said to him 'don't do anything silly. We can't afford to go down to 10 men here. We have to have 11 on the pitch. Don't let us down'.

"He let himself down, he let us down as well. He could have cost us the game. The way he reacted, it was disappointing."

Redknapp feels Defoe could be the top goalscorer in the Premier League, provided he remains out of disciplinary trouble.

"He's been on fire, scoring goals, and this is his year maybe to be top goalscorer in the league, or get close to that," Redknapp said. "He could do that."