Tom Huddlestone has credited Wilson Palacios as the major reason why Tottenham find themselves challenging for a UEFA Champions League place this season. Huddlestone has partnered the 25-year-old Honduran international on a regular basis this term and has seen first hand the impact the former Birmingham ace has had.
"Tottenham have been renowned for not having a ball-winning midfielder like that and playing too much pretty football," he said.
"Wilson is the one who gets about teams, puts the tackles in and it almost makes everyone else do it. If you see someone go in with a crunching tackle it seems to spur the rest of the team on.
"This season the most noticeable difference has been the tempo we've played both with and without the ball.
"We're working as hard as ever to win the ball back and if we manage to do that, especially in the opponents' half, we've the players going forward that not many teams are able to live with."
