Harry keen to bring 'flair' to the Lane

Harry keen to bring 'flair' to the Lane

Published Sep. 27, 2010 10:56 a.m. ET

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp wants to use the transfer market to add "another couple of flair players", despite a shortage of defenders.

Spurs lost at struggling West Ham on Saturday as last season's fourth-placed Premier League team could not overcome an injury crisis in a 1-0 defeat.

Redknapp had only Vedran Corluka and Sebastien Bassong fit to play at centre-back at Upton Park as the likes of Ledley King, Michael Dawson and Jonathan Woodgate are sidelined.

The Tottenham boss has acknowledged that he has a defensive headache ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match against FC Twente.

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But Redknapp is also eager to add some style to combine with the likes Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric when the transfer window reopens in the winter.

He said in The Game: "I'd like to get another couple of flair players for the side to go with the likes of him (Van der Vaart) and Modric. You don't give the ball away when you've got players like that.

"You look at Arsenal, they're all popping the ball around to each other. If people want the ball, you've got a chance because they tend not to give the ball away.

"I'd much rather play that way, to be honest with you, than have people in there who are hammer-throwers, and keep passing the ball to the other team and then tackling people to get it back again. I'd rather go the other way."

Redknapp will hope that his existing flair players click against Twente in midweek as he plans to go on the offensive to cope with his defensive problems.

He said in The Sun: "We have to go for it. Winning the game is all-important and it will set us up nicely.

"The group is wide open with one point each. Inter Milan are obviously the favourites but after that, it's wide open. At home, our crowd are pumped up. It will be an intimidating atmosphere, just like it was in the qualifier against Young Boys. We attacked and got after them from the start.

"That is what we have to do in these European games, especially in this group. In Milan you might set up differently but at home... no."

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