London, Nov 13 Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe has said that his mother and his family are the toughest critics of his game.

Defoe has been under the hammer for his reckless challenge on Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon that broke his arm.

Defoe said his mother was so angry after his red card for the blatantly stamping on Portsmouth's Aaron Mokoena last month, that she could not watch the TV highlights.

"My mum is my toughest critic. I called her after the game and she asked me what I did. I said 'Watch it on Match of the Day'. But she said she didn't want to because she'd give me a mouthful," The Sun quoted Defoe, as saying.

"I'm glad she didn't see it. My grandad did, though, and gave me a bit of stick. Your family are the ones who were there at the beginning and gave me the support and belief to achieve what I've achieved today. It's how they view you that's the most important thing," he added.

The 27-year-old also admitted the incident was not something, which England manager Fabio Capello wanted to see before the World Cup.

"My Spurs boss Harry Redknapp wasn't happy and, of course, I worried what the England manager might think. It's a World Cup year so you want to try and do everything right. I don't want to let myself down," Defoe said.

"I'd worked hard, got my goal and you don't want to spoil it by getting sent off doing silly things like that when you can avoid those situations. The England manager doesn't want to see players getting sent off. He's told us one of the most important things is to keep 11 players on the pitch. He wants 11 players coming off at the end of the game," he added.(ANI)