Tottenham 2-0 West Ham: Son comes off the bench to seal London derby win for Spurs after Emerson Royal's opener as they go above Newcastle into fourth with Antonio Conte watching from Italy... while Hammers stay in the drop zone 

Back into the top four, with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min back in their telepathic groove, normal service resumed at Tottenham, the resident disc jockey reached for the celebration playlist and on came Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Oh what a night. Late December back in 63, a time when, incidentally, Spurs were losing at home to West Bromwich Albion but nevertheless. Here was an emphatic second half display and they swept aside West Ham with glee, piling a little misery on their visitors for good measure.

Sure, this was part of the happy vibe but moreover here was a feeling fuelled by the sense of relief washing through the home fans because despite a spluttering run of form and some turgid viewing, they still every chance of finishing fourth.

Still in the FA Cup and trailing by only one goal after the away leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against AC Milan, it could yet be a memorable season if it all comes together. Next up, another London derby at home against Chelsea.

Son came off the bench and found the net within five minutes, an electric burst of pace and a touch to collect the pass threaded through by Kane and a confident finish to beat Lukasz Fabianski.

It was only his second Premier League goal since September, when he came on as a substitute score three in a six-goal romp against Leicester. If he’s not careful, Antonio Conte will decide this is his best role in the team.

Son shared the limelight with Emerson Royal, scorer of the opening goal in a sweeping counter-attack featuring a most unlikely cast, with Ben Davies tearing forward to claim the assist from wing back.

Tottenham climbed above Newcastle into fourth, easing the pain for their absent boss Antonio Conte, watching from his home in Turin and texting messages, while preserving a perfect record for his assistant Cristian Stellini.

It is now six wins out of six for Stellini when deputising for Conte, three wins here at Tottenham to go with three when they were at Inter.

For West Ham, a miserable defeat and creeping relegation gloom, stuck in the bottom three with 15 games remaining, with nothing to show despite a promising start at Spurs, when Jarrod Bowen found space on the edge of the penalty box and crashed a shot wide within the first minute.

It was an early scare for the home side, depleted in midfield, without Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma, with Oliver Skipp paired with Pierre Emile Hojbjerg against the trio of Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Flynn Downes.

Team selection was workmanlike from both angles and David Moyes would have taken encouragement as his team converted the extra midfielder into a short spell of pressure, forcing early corners and a few mistakes.

It did not last. Tottenham warmed up and grew into the game.

Cristian Romero was running through his full repertoire of reckless sliding tackles and Conte’s team were dominating by the time referee Michael Oliver rejected a strong penalty appeal, midway through the first half.

There was no doubt the ball struck centre-half Thilo Kehrer on a hand. Crouching low to challenge Richarlison in a crowded penalty area Kehrer stopped a pass intended Kane, trapping it between his left hand and the turf.

There were distinct echoes of the Soucek handball against Chelsea, although that one actually deflected wide a shot on target and was not given. Again, West Ham got away with it.

Fabianski did not have to make a save until required to keep out a long-range effort by Hojbjerg, late in the first half. Then, he saved from Richarlison, and Romero beat Angelo Ogbonna in the air at a corner and headed over.

Tottenham were a different proposition when they returned after interval, moving the ball around with greater urgency.

Twice, they broke through onto Fabianski’s goal in the early stages of the second half. First, Richarlison with a shot too close to the West Ham keeper. Then Dejan Kulusevski dispossessed Rice and found Kane, who dragged it wide from an angle.

The breakthrough came when Hojbjerg’s wonderful long pass out of defence released Davies, who cut inside and found Royal unmarked to score with a first-time finish, a goal that seemed to go straight to his head.

With his first child on the way, he stuck the ball up his jersey in celebration and was soon performing a no-look pass and shimmying through his Brazilian party tricks, egged on by the crowd who were signing his name, right up until he launched into a ridiculous lunging tackle on Rice.

Luckily, it was so badly timed that he was nowhere near the West Ham captain and he recovered some of his composure by the time Son came on and linked up with Kane for the second. It is the 45th combination goal between them in the Premier League.

There was no way back for West Ham, although in between the two goals, Tottenham were grateful for a fine save from Fraser Forster to deny Bowen who sped onto a long ball touched on by Michail Antonio.

The save was every bit as vital as the goals and the clean sheet will be a boost for Forster, who was unfortunate to concede the rebound after making a miraculous reflex save against Milan in the Champions League, last week.

Here the ‘keeper standing in for injured captain Hugo Lloris helped his team to three important points, teed up the songs of celebration.