LONDON (AFP) - Juande Ramos was eager to play down suggestions that he is ready to sell Jermain Defoe after unexpectedly awarding him the captaincy for Tottenham's Premier League victory against Sunderland.

Rumours have been rife that the England striker could be on his way out of White Hart Lane following reported talks with Aston Villa, but Defoe was given the captain's armband on Saturday - a move that hardly suggested he was out of favour with Ramos.

"The first three captains I could have chosen were out of the first 11, Keane, King and Robinson, so I decided I needed an alternative captain," Ramos said.

"I had to choose someone so it was him, we needed him to represent the team," he added.

The pragmatic Spaniard was more forthcoming when praising club top-scorer Robbie Keane.

The Ireland striker netted the second goal in Spurs' 2-0 victory and in the process claimed his 100th goal for the north London club.

"It's a great achievment for him and for the whole Spurs family. He's a quality player and I am very happy for him because it is not an easy achievement to reach," Ramos said.

The former Sevilla coach elected to stick with Czech goalkeeper Radek Cerny in goal, further fueling suggestions that former England number one Paul Robinson could be on the move.

Cerny produced a string of outstanding second-half saves to keep a rejuvinated Sunderland at bay and the omens now look bad for Robinson.

"The more he plays the better performs and he produced a magnificent match today," Ramos said of Cerny, indicating a long run in the first team for the Czech.

Ramos fielded a weakened team for the Saturday's match with Keane on the bench, presumably with one eye on the huge fixtures that Spurs have in the next week.

Spurs face arch local rivals Arsenal in the second-leg of the League Cup semi-final on Tuesday before a daunting FA Cup fourth round fixture away at mighty Manchester United on Sunday.

"You always think about the game that you've got to play immediately not the games that are in front of you. We needed to get three points, that was the most important thing," Ramos said when asked about his selection.

The Spaniard admitted that he had rested centre-back Ledely King as he continues his recovery from a long-term injury.

Spurs took the lead through an Aaron Lennon goal after just two minutes and could have gone in at half-time with the game already won after spurning a series of glorious opportunities.

However, Roy Keane's Sunderland produced a stirring second-half display but could find no way of getting the ball into the net and were finally undone in injury time.

The Black Cats' boss bemoaned his team's slack defending and reassured fans that he is determined to bring in new players to strengthen the squad.

"The main thing about being a top, top footballer is what goes on between your ears. It's really about concentration and that's why we're losing matches," Keane said.

The former Manchester United man refused to be drawn on how many wins he thought his team would need to pull themselves out of the relegation zone.

"I think there's a danger in doing that and you can't really look past your next game, especially when we don't have a squad of 25 international players like the top four," he said.

The Irishman said of his activity in the January transfer window: "I've been saying this for weeks now but I'm hopeful, I'm always hopeful. We're always looking for players.

"We're being tested but life's is a test, but a test we are ready for."