Redknapp praise for Bent

Spurs boss thrilled to take step closer to Wembley date

By Chris Harvey   Last updated: 3rd December 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Redknapp praise for Bent

Hornets stung: Darren Bent (left) and Jermaine Jenas celebrate victory over Watford

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Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp admitted he was pleased to see Carling Cup match-winner Darren Bent get back on the scoresheet.

Bent was left on the bench for the semi-final with Watford but was brought on by Redknapp with 25 minutes to go and duly scored to send Spurs a step closer to another Wembley appearance.

Redknapp admitted England striker Bent, who has netted eight in his last 11 games, has been below par of late but he was delighted to see him get the winner in the 2-1 victory at Vicarage Road.

"He (Bent) had a great spell then he had a couple of weeks where he wasn't doing as well as he had when he was scoring and I told him he had to get back to that," he told Sky Sports 1.

"I thought he took his foot off the pedal but he came on today and scored and I am pleased for him."

Bent himself said he was relieved to score.

"The team played well, we created chances and got the result. It is massive, the Carling Cup is another bit of silverware for us."

Thoughts now turn to the last four with Redkapp hoping fixture congestion will not hamper his chances of a Wembley return following his FA Cup win with Portsmouth.

Fantastic

"There are a lot of games coming up. We haven't got a big squad, we are not overloaded for sure; it's not a squad that's bulging at the seams. It is a problem but I would rather be in a semi-final than not.

"It will be a great occasion but whoever we play it will be a tough game. Manchester United have won tonight and Derby and Burnley did fantastic so whoever we play it will be difficult."

Both Redknapp and man of the match Jonathan Woodgate paid tribute to Watford who held the lead for much of the first half thanks to Tamas Priskin's strike.

Redknapp said: "They got off to a good start. They started brightly and scored but then we took the game over and bossed it and had chances but eventually we got the goal just on half-time and at that point I thought we would go on and win.

"They had a go second half. It was a difficult surface to play on but I thought we showed terrific character.

"I thought we battered them for 35 minutes of the first half and I was pleased with us, very pleased."

Woodgate admitted: "They caused us problems. We knew they were going to be tough to play against and the pitch was hard to play on.

"Credit to the lads we came back from a goal down and got the victory."

Comments (1)

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Martin Hawkins (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

Harrys revolution continues, we were deflated before he arrived he has worked wonders but we would take a middle of the table finish and one throphy not fussy which one.

Posted 22:56 3rd December 2008
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