Their third successive defeat leaves Spurs firmly rooted to the bottom of the first division and increases the pressure on manager Terry Venables, whose side look nothing but a relegation doomed outfit.

Spurs withstood early Villa pressure with Cowans and Gage providing no danger with long range shots.

Daley gave them their first real fright, having one shot charged down and slicing his second shot wide of an open goal.

Mclnally then missed from a Gray cross while Gage also was wide from a good position.

Villa's Keown received a harsh booking for a foul on Stewart in a scrappy opening to the second half.

Spurs looked promising on the break, but there was no end product and they fell behind after 60 minutes when Fenwick sliced a corner from Cowans into his own goal.

The game was won and lost in a five-minute spell near the end. In the 74th minute Fenwick equalised from a penalty but five minutes later Daley scored a deserved winner for Villa.