Defoe revealed that he goes to church with his family to help him get through any difficult times in his life.
"I missed Manchester United against Arsenal because I was at church," he said.
United have beaten both north London sides in the past ten days, but Spurs know they cannot lose against the Gunners at Highbury on Saturday if they want to stay on course for a fourth place finish this season.
The last time the two sides met at Highbury, almost a year ago, Sean Davis, Freddie Kanoute, Simon Davies and Erik Edman were all in Tottenham's starting line-up.
Jol said: "We've had to make three transitions since I've been here. We've had to change the midfield, change the wide players and the defence. We have brought in young English players cheaply, generally from the lower leagues. Remember even Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe were signed from a side that was in a lower division at the time. I think Ledley King is the only player who is still here from when we started, and nobody has noticed."
Last week Everton boss David Moyes suggested that Spurs have managed to hold onto the last Champions League qualification place for the past four months due to the amount of money the club had spent on players.
Afterwards Moyes sung the praises of Tottenham's performance at Goodison. He said: "They pass it well, they keep it simple, they are well-balanced and they were just too good for us."
Jermaine Jenas, the only big money transfer, and Aaron Lennon (bargain buy of the season?) have each played huge parts in Tottenham's season - along with other World Cup hopefuls Carrick, Robinson, King, and to a lesser extent Defoe.
A few weeks ago, Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez was responsible for trying to unsettle the striker with unsubstantiated gossip during a press conference. Defoe added: "I saw what Benitez said on the TV like everyone else, I watched it and then went out. I was stuck in the middle. I've been through a lot in my career already."
Meanwhile, after six months of negotiations, Ledley King has negotiated a contract worth £60,000 a week plus bonuses, according to a Sunday tabloid report – that's a £40,000-a-week rise on the Tottenham captain's current wages at the club.
Source: Daily Mirror