Wimbledon, once the hard-nosed side with no respect of Premiership reputations, raised the white flag of surrender again at White Hart Lane where they suffered their seventh successive defeat and drifted even closer to the drop.

New manager Egil Olsen's Norwegian revolution has turned into a disaster and there is a very real danger now that the Dons, no longer the Crazy Gang, more an undisciplined rabble, will sink out of the top flight for the first time since their arrival in 1986 unless they can discover some old-style spirit in the remaining three games of the campaign.

On the evidence at Tottenham, that looks highly unlikely. Spurs won easily, even without the urging of manager George Graham - still on sick leave after hospital treatment and tests for a painful arthritic condition - had the game wrapped up by half time.

Chris Armstrong lashed his eighth goal in ten games after just eight minutes to deflect any hint of the familiar cries for the acquisition of a new striker and Darren Anderton confirmed his man-of-the-match status with a clinical finish 28 minutes later.

In between, Wimbledon's impressive goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, who is certain to leave his sinking club at the end of the season on a Bosman-style free transfer, prevented an avalanche with a string of saves and towards the end Olsen tried a number of substitutions - more in desperation than expectancy of improvement.

At the end his only consolation was that Sheffield Wednesday, the team most likely to climb out of the relegation zone and supplant Wimbledon there, lost at home to Sunderland - but the Owls still have a game in hand.

If Spurs had needed to score more goals after the break they no doubt would have done so, but the compulsion was just not there and the game just drifted to a tame conclusion.

But Tottenham have not been without their problems again this term and three more easy points were a welcome gift on a day when the story was all about Wimbledon's sorry decline.

Carl Cort put an unchallenged header wastefully wide in the sixth minute after Marcus Gayle latched onto a crossfield ball by Michael Hughes to provide a perfect cross, but that was virtually Wimbledon's last sight of goal in the first half.

Within two minutes they were behind, as Armstrong lashed Spurs ahead with the kind of route-one goal that has been Dons' trademark over the years.

Ian Walker's long punt up field found Steffen Iversen outjumping Trond Andersen to nod on and Armstrong ran free of his marker to half-volley past Sullivan for his eighth goal in ten games.

With David Ginola enjoying himself immensely in a free role supplementing the two Tottenham strikers, Wimbledon were reduced to desperate and often dubious scuffling, seemingly without plan or method and it was a wonder that dominant Spurs had to wait until 11 minutes before the interval to net another.

Sullivan produced a glorious save, going full stretch to keep out Anderton's shot on the turn with his fingertips and then denied the midfielder again from a curling free-kick after one of a series of fouls on the elusive Ginola.

Alan Kimble's yellow card for the upending of Armstrong showed that Dons have not lost all their aggression, but they showed precious sign of it at the other end of the field where Gayle and Cort sent futile long-range efforts comically off target before Hughes, the one real quality performer in the visitors' midfield, stung Walker's hands with a much better attempt.

The persistent Anderton could not be denied for ever, though and when Iversen smartly redirected left-back Steve Clemence's ball down the line into the penalty area, the England midfielder arrived at speed to hold off a half-hearted challenge by Ken Cunningham and poke his shot past Sulllivan.

The Scotland keeper risked flying boots to frustrate Iversen in a frantic goalmouth scramble soon afterwards and Ginola introduced his class into the proceedings when, from Armstrong's overhit cross, he sized up a delicate lob that drifted just over the bar.

It must have been difficult for Spurs to raise much urgency after the break, so comfortably did they have the game in their pockets, but when their fans who have suffered so much mediocrity themselves this season were denied a classic third goal in the 56th minute - although it must be said that referee's assistant Wendy Toms' narrow offside decision was spot on.

Armstrong arrived at pace on the near post to firmly slot in Ginola's stinging low cross, but had got in front of the Wimbledon defenders just a split-second too soon.

The move had been started by a splendid crossfield pass to the Frenchman by Willem Korsten who produced easily his most impressive performance in a Spurs shirt, given a rare start in his injury-wrecked first season at White Hart Lane.

And the tall Dutchman was unlucky not to crown his efforts in the 64th minute when making a determined solo run and finishing with a powerful shot that gave Sullivan another opportunity to display immaculate handling.

With 16 minutes left, Spurs stand-in boss Stewart Houston felt sufficiently secure to send on 18-year-old Matthew Etherington for his home debut, although the Tottenham supporters were not wildly happy that it was Ginola who made way for him.

But former Peterborough United winger Etherington - who set up Ginola's late winner at Leicester in midweek to end Tottenham's own dismal run of just one point from five games - soon won them over.

He pounced on a parry by Sullivan after Armstrong's fierce cross-shot and lifted the ball back into the goalmouth where the striker headed it over the bar. Armstrong, now with 13 goals this season, should have been celebrating his 400th senior appearance with a hat-trick.

Teams:

Tottenham: Walker, Carr, Campbell, Perry, Clemence, Korsten, Freund, Anderton, Ginola (Etherington 73), Iversen, Armstrong.

Subs Not Used: Baardsen, McEwen, Davies, Gardner.

Goals: Armstrong 8, Anderton 36.

Wimbledon: Sullivan, Jupp, Cunningham, Hreidarsson, Kimble, Andersen, Roberts (Andresen 59), Hughes, Euell, Gayle (Lund 82), Cort, Andresen (Francis 79).

Subs Not Used: Heald, Blackwell.

Booked: Kimble.

Att: 33,086

Ref: D Gallagher (Banbury).