Defoe reveals he warned Spurs teammates about dodgy lasagne that cost them top-four

'Lasagne Gate', as it has been referred to since then, was the infamous controversy that saw several first-team stars struck with food poisoning in Spurs' final match of the season against West Ham - and Jermain Defoe has revealed how he could have stopped it all from happening.

All Spurs had to do was match Arsenal's result on the final day to ensure they would be playing in Europe's premier competition in the next season.

The Gunners hosted Wigan Athletic and secured a 4-2 victory thanks to a Thierry Henry hat-trick.

However, on their way to West Ham's former ground - Upton Park - a number of Tottenham's first-team players were feeling under the weather due to the lasagne they ate the day before.

Unlike Arsenal and the recent north London derby, though, Spurs were not permitted to postponed the game with the club wary of being hit with a Premier League fine.

The game went ahead with Tottenham missing TEN key players. It led to former manager Martin Jol fielding a weakened side who were unable to secure the victory they needed, as they lost 2-1.

Now, several years later, Defoe - one of the only survivors of 'Lasagne Gate' who scored Spurs' goal in that match - will have wished he got his teammates to follow his lead and not eat that dish, with the notoriously fussy eater saying he knew it was dodgy.

"That day, I remember, I probably did say to the boys, 'you've got to be careful with that'," the 39-year-old told the talkSPORT Breakfast.

"They had the lasagne, and I think there were about seven [sic - it was actually around ten] players out.

"I remember waking up in the morning and the doctor phoned me early, 'JD are you okay?' I was like 'yeah, why are you calling me? You're the doctor, you're obviously not picking the team, you're not telling me I'm not playing'.

"I came down for pre-match and I saw Michael Carrick and a few of the boys and you could just see them, they were struggling to eat.

"Big game, last game of the season and just that lasagne, I don't know what happened."

"I dodged it," he added before host Laura Woods said that he could have saved the whole team had they listened to him.

Defoe added: "I know, exactly, they should have done."

If only all the Spurs players were as fussy eaters as Defoe, a teetotal vegetarian who is well known for being picky with his food - just ask his mum.

The striker said: "I haven't had meat for years, although I do eat fish. It really works, you feel amazing.

"I'm fussy. My mum always says to me, 'you're so fussy'.

"I was at my mum's yesterday and I said I fancied a bit of pasta because I'd been out for a run. She got the pasta out and I said, 'mum, that's not wholewheat - I only eat wholewheat pasta'.

"She was like, 'OK then, you're such a diva', and then she pulls out a jar of readymade sauce and I told her, 'mum, can't you make some fresh sauce for me?'"

It's a good thing she loves you, Jermain!