By Alan Baldwin

LONDON - England striker Jermain Defoe scored five second-half goals as an irresistible Tottenham Hotspur demolished Wigan Athletic 9-1 to go fourth in the Premier League on Sunday.

Defoe stunned the hapless visitors with a mesmerising second-half blitz at White Hart Lane after Spurs had gone in 1-0 up at the break thanks to a ninth-minute Peter Crouch header.

After hitting the bar in the 34th minute, Defoe opened his account in the 51st and wasted no time in completing his hat-trick seven minutes later.

He then netted again in the 69th and completed his tally with a right-foot shot three minutes from time as Tottenham fans sang "we want 10."

Aaron Lennon also struck in the 64th while shell-shocked Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland added to the goal tally in the 88th when a David Bentley shot rebounded off the angle, hit him on the back and went in.

Croatia's Niko Kranjcar scored in the dying seconds to wrap up Tottenham's biggest win for 32 years, when they beat Bristol Rovers 9-0 in the second division, and their biggest in the Premier League.

CONTROVERSIAL GOAL

Wigan's only reply was a controversial Paul Scharner goal in the 57th minute, with the player appearing to control the ball with his hand before scoring.

Tottenham are level on 25 points with North London rivals Arsenal but behind the Gunners on goal difference.

The top teams played on Saturday, with Chelsea beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 to stay five clear of champions Manchester United who overcame Everton 3-0 at Old Trafford. Arsenal lost 1-0 at Sunderland.

Blackburn Rovers shrugged off the absence of manager Sam Allardyce, who is awaiting heart surgery, to beat his former club Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in Sunday's lunchtime kickoff.

Victory in the Lancashire derby ended Blackburn's run of 10 successive away defeats, the team's first points on their travels this season lifting them to 11th place.

Defeat left Wanderers third from bottom.

David Dunn netted the opener in the 32nd minute, curling the ball into the top corner past the outstretched Jussi Jaaskelainen in goal.

Bolton defender Sam Ricketts then headed into his own net in the 73rd.