The transformation in Tottenham Hotspur FC since their opening UEFA Cup group stage defeat by Udinese Calcio could spell bad news for NK Dinamo Zagreb tonight, with the London club rejuvenated under Harry Redknapp.
Ramos replaced
The 2-0 reverse in northern Italy proved to be Juande Ramos's final act at White Hart Lane, and his replacement has overseen a stunning reversal in fortunes for a side which had suffered their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign, claiming a meagre two points from their first eight matches. Redknapp swapped fellow UEFA Cup hopefuls Portsmouth FC for Tottenham and his new charges repaid him with seven points from three games in the space of seven days. After beating Bolton Wanderers FC 2-0 the north London club scored two goals in the dying minutes to claim a remarkable 4-4 draw at rivals Arsenal FC. Then, on Saturday, they spoiled Liverpool FC's unbeaten start to the campaign with Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring a late winner in a 2-1 comeback success.
'Turning points'
Despite the impressive results against two UEFA Champions League contenders, it is the first game of that trilogy that Redknapp pinpoints as key to their renaissance. "The Bolton match was vital – people talked about us showing character at Arsenal but we also showed a lot of character against Bolton," said the 61-year-old, who will be without the suspended Jamie O'Hara against Dinamo following his red card against Udinese. "That was a match we had to win and if we hadn't, we really looked like we were in trouble. Sometimes you get turning points and the draw with Arsenal was one. When we scored it was as though we had won the cup. Liverpool are such a tough team to play against and we went behind early so it was difficult for us. We kept going and when you do that and don't give up, you get your reward. We'd have taken five points against Bolton, Arsenal and Liverpool all day long so to take seven is fantastic."
Contrasting fortunes
Nevertheless, Spurs remain bottom of the table, a striking contrast to their Croatian opponents who returned to their customary position at the Prva Liga summit on Sunday with a 3-1 success at NK Inter Zaprešic. The €20.5m summer transfer of Luka Modrić to tonight's opponents does not seem to have affected their march to a fourth successive title too adversely. Branko Ivanković's side also made a profitable start in Group D with two goals in the final nine minutes sealing a 3-2 home win against NEC Nijmegen, but a virus subsequently decimated their squad, causing the postponement of their recent fixture with HNK Rijeka.
Source:
http://www.uefa.com
