Redknapp pulled off what could prove to be one of the transfers of the summer when he beat off competition from Arsenal and Chelsea to land Parker in a £6million deal. While the Spurs squad is blessed with creativity and flare, Redknapp was quick to bemoan its lack of experience and steel last term. Parker's full-blooded commitment to a dying cause at West Ham last year made him decide the 30-year-old was the man to plug that gap. The former Chelsea and Newcastle midfielder excelled on the pitch despite seeing the Hammers finish bottom of the league and he also earned praise for the role he played in keeping up spirits in the dressing room. The clearest evidence of this came in February this year when, with his team 3-0 down at half-time against relegation rivals West Brom, Parker gave a tear-jerking impassioned speech urging his team-mates to up their game. West Ham went on to draw the match 3-3 after a remarkable second-half comeback - a result widely believed to have saved then manager Avram Grant. Redknapp sees similarities between Parker and some of England's greatest leaders of recent times and hopes his new midfielder can drag his team up the table fast. "He will have an opinion and I don't think he's afraid to voice his opinion," Redknapp said. "That's good. If you're wrong and you are talking rubbish he wouldn't be afraid to tell you. "You don't want to pick a load of lads who are just sitting there and looking at you nodding their head when they don't agree with what you're saying. "It's nice to have good lads who are good people, good pros and have good family values. "You can talk to Scott about people and football. You can bounce things off him. People like him are a dying breed. "You used to have loads of lads like that who you could run your team for you. "I'm sure Terry Venables' job was easy in 1996 with Tony Adams and Alan Shearer in the dressing room. "It makes your job easy when you have people like that. I'm sure Scott will give us that." For Parker, the move to White Hart Lane caps a remarkable 14-month spell which has seen him bounce back from being left out of England's World Cup squad by winning the Football Writers' Association player of the year award. He has also made huge strides in international set-up, winning five of his eight caps and edging England stalwart Frank Lampard out of Fabio Capello's starting line-up for last week's 3-0 win over Bulgaria. He admits he could have lost his chance of playing for England at Euro 2012 had he not returned to the top flight with Spurs. "Playing in the Euros was a massive factor," said Parker, who will start tomorrow's game at Wolves. "The last six months for me has been massive with England. I have not just been getting in to squads, I have been playing. "To get in to the squad for the Euros would be massive for me and my career. I want to do everything I possibly can to get in to that squad really. "With the way it's gone for me over the last year, I felt like I needed to be playing in the Premier League." Parker's arrival gives Redknapp more options in midfield and is particularly helpful given that Sandro is likely to be out for at least another month with a knee injury. Even without the Brazilian, Redknapp still has the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Luka Modric, Jake Livermore, Niko Kranjcar and Steven Pienaar - when he is back from injury - to choose from in the centre of midfield. The Spurs boss is adamant everyone will have a chance to play, though. "People say 'What are you going to do with so many?' but it never works like that," Redknapp said. "One minute you have four players fit and the other you have one or none. That's how it works." Parker, who turns 31 next month, thinks Tottenham will be his last club. "I've signed for four years so I like to think it will be my last club. I'm really looking forward to it," he said.
