Defoe Chadli Tottenham
Tottenham players Jermain Defoe and Nacer Chadli celebrate a goal against Aznhi Makhachkala in their Europa League game, October 3Reuters

Jermain Defoe believes it is Tottenham's winning mentality which has seen them make such an impressive start to the season.

Defoe was again in the scoresheet for Spurs as they ran out 2-0 winners over Anzhi Makhachkala to stay perfect in the Europa League.

Spurs are also doing well in the English Premier League, and currently lie third, two points behind leaders Arsenal.

Andre Villas-Boas made several changes to his squad from last season, and Defoe believes it has helped the side remain strong in every competition.

"This is one of the strongest squads (we've had) with the new players that have come in," Defoe told UEFA.com. "I think the manager has done well tactically as we are not conceding a lot of goals and we are always going to score goals with the players that we have got.

"When players come into the team they know their jobs and they know what they have to do, which is important. I believe we have that winning mentality and we believe we can win every game we play.

"There's still a long way to go, but if we keep on winning games you never know what could happen."

Spurs took some time to break down Anzhi, before Defoe's opener in the 34th minute. Nacer Chadli's then made the game fairly safe with a second five minutes later.

"It was difficult (early on) because they sat behind the ball and tried to hit us on the counterattack and that meant we couldn't really find any space to try and cut through the middle," Defoe added. "We tried to get it out wide and we managed to score a goal and to then go 2-0 into halftime was vital."

Lewis Holtby, another one of the Spurs players who has had to do with opportunities in the Europa League, made the opening goal for Defoe and the playmaker echoed his teammate's sentiments on the spirit within the squad.

"Jermain and I link up very well and that's my fifth assist for him," the German said. "We always speak about that after the game and before the game and I am very happy that we won.

"The dressing room is really happy and everyone is getting along very well. There is a top team spirit and I haven't seen that for a long time in any team, so it makes it fun to train with these guys all the time.

"We have got so much quality in the depth of our squad and you can see that by who didn't play today. So there are great things to look forward to."