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Redknapp disappointed by Van der Vaart snub

It was a game to forget for Tottenham, who blew several fine chances © PA Photos

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Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp defended Jermain Defoe's poor performance in the 0-0 draw with West Ham, revealing that the striker had been affected by the death of one of his grandparents last night.

"Jermain was up half the night due to a family bereavement,'' Redknapp said. "I wasn't sure whether to play him but he wanted to. He had some good chances today, the little fella, and he normally scores them but it was just one of those days. It wasn't through a lack of effort.

"He was bright, he was sharp he just couldn't score but that's football. That's how it goes, another day he'll go and bang a couple in. The two goals he got at Wolves, he had no right to score them. They weren't even half chances.''

Tottenham rattled the woodwork three times in total and were wasteful at times in front of goal.

But they also had to contend with some fantastic goalkeeping from Green, who tipped Gareth Bale's late free-kick onto the bar when it seemed impossible to stop the ball going in.

Redknapp was proud of his side's performance, though, and insisted that people are getting carried away with their expectations of his team now that they have made the Champions League quarter-finals.

"I love the way we play football and I will go home satisfied tonight,'' he said. "We just could not get a break. We are pushing for a top-four place. What are we supposed to do, beat Manchester City? They spent £200 million in the summer. Are we supposed to finish above Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United?

"We are building a team here and it is only going to get better. If we keep on improving then I think we can win the championship with Tottenham. I'm not putting a time scale on it. I'm just saying I think this team is capable of winning the championship. That is my ambition.''

Redknapp may have been happy with his team's performance but he was upset with Rafael van der Vaart walking straight down the tunnel when he was replaced by Roman Pavlyuchenko towards the end of the second half.

"I didn't like that at all,'' Redknapp added. "If you are part of a team I think you should stay and watch the game. I will speak to him about it. He is a good lad. I just wanted to make a substitution."

While Mark Noble and Carlton Cole both came close to snatching all three points, West Ham manager Avram Grant was still pleased to have taken home a point which moves his team out of the bottom three.

"Tottenham are a really good team, especially at home, so I think it was a good result for us," he said. "My team showed a good spirit. We are scoring lots of goals at the moment but we need to keep clean sheets to stay up and I'm glad we did that today."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.