Dawson saves drama for pitch

HARRY REDKNAPP has always had the air of an EastEnders character about him, and the Tottenham Hotspur manager did little to disabuse anyone of that notion with a post-match summation that could just as easily have been delivered over a pint in the Queen Vic.

Need a little convincing? How many of his contemporaries would have used a term as Cockney as ‘toe rag’ in discussing the burgeoning spirit in the camp at White Hart Lane? Redknapp was discussing the amiable characteristics of his England defender Michael Dawson, a proud Yorkshireman who is more Emmerdale than Walford, whose first goal of the season cancelled out a deft early strike from Asamoah Gyan.

“Clubs aren’t just about having wonderful players,” Redknapp insisted after a victory which extended his side’s impressive run to a single league defeat in 15 games to take them into fourth place above Chelsea.