Spurs fire but offer O’Neill some relief

THERE was some good news for the Shamrock Rovers spy in the crowd at the DW Stadium.

Tottenham’s dominant first-half performance was enough to send a shiver down the spine of most Premier League managers, let alone Michael O’Neill’s.

Yet the team which destroyed Wigan in the opening 45 minutes is unlikely to be on duty on Thursday, when Shamrock Rovers visit White Hart Lane in a continental David versus Goliath Europa League tie.

With White Hart Lane hosting a north London derby against Arsenal next Sunday, even Jermain Defoe is set to be rested.

England striker Defoe missed this game with a stomach bug, but Harry Redknapp is not expected to risk him ahead of one of his team’s most important league games of the season.

Instead, Redknapp is likely to use fringe players like Vedran Corluka, Sebastian Bassong, Jake Livermore and Tom Carroll in three days’ time.

That will come as something of a relief to Rovers after Tottenham’s performance on Saturday, where Emmanuel Adebayor, the on-loan striker from Manchester City, overcame the loss of sight in one eye to inspire his team to a third straight league win.

“I had a fantastic first half but unfortunately the second half was quite difficult because I was playing with only one eye,” said Adebayor, who expects to have his former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his sights next week.

“I couldn’t see the ball. I couldn’t see my opponents or anything. But at the end of the day I managed to stay on the pitch for 90 minutes. I’m very glad and very grateful.

“But it’s even better when you have one eye and you’re going home with three points.”

After a false start against Manchester United and Manchester City, Tottenham are in a good run of form. They start next weekend’s derby two points ahead of Wenger’s side in the table with a game in hand and in Adebayor they have a talent who is clearly pleased to be back in the capital.

“We’ve got the makings of a really good side this season,” said manager Redknapp. “The team I put out against Wigan is not far from my best. We’re very, very strong.”

Whatever happens on Thursday, it is unlikely Shamrock Rovers will start as badly as Wigan did against Tottenham.

Wigan have hit an alarming slump since launching the campaign with a three-match unbeaten run, yet Roberto Martinez tried to remain positive after a fourth successive defeat.

“It doesn’t matter how well Spurs played in the first half, the frustration was that the two goals were soft,” said Wigan’s manager.

“It’s important that you regroup and have a real reaction. If you’ve got real character you do that, if not you fold and you concede four or five and allow the opposition to have an easy afternoon.”

Despite the run of defeats, Ben Watson, the Wigan midfielder, insists the team is better than last term.

“Rewind to this point last season and I think everyone will agree that there is a very different feeling and look to us,” said the former Crystal Palace player.

“In the past, whenever we went a goal down it looked as though we could have conceded six or seven, and at certain points we did!

“Now, if we do go a goal behind we’re far more collected about how we get back into the game and are more willing to stick to our beliefs and game plan.”