'The Whole Team Played Well'

Last updated : 23 November 2009 By Sam
England striker Jermain Defoe grabbed five of the goals but the Spurs boss paid credit to the whole side for giving Spurs their highest ever win at Premier League level.

Redknapp also had words of sympathy for his Wigan counterpart, Roberto Matinez.

"The whole team, everybody worked and played well and for Jermain to go and get five goals was a really outstanding performance," Redknapp told Sky Sports after the match on Sunday afternoon.

"He looked like that yesterday and the day before in training - he looks so sharp that I just thought if he can carry that into the game he's going to be a real handful for their back four.

"We started the game well, scored early on, Peter Crouch scored and I felt we started really bright.

"We had 23 minutes or so where we really got after them and made lots of good chances.

"Then they came in to the game in the last 20 minutes of the half, and started to play.

"I came in at half-time and said we've got to get back and start the way we started the game.

"We decided to press them and work them and we stepped off that for 20 minutes at the end of the first half, but we came out second half and got back to doing that again.

"You don't get too many nines in the Premier League. I feel genuinely, I've got so much time and respect for their manager, I think he really is a fantastic young manager.

"The work he did at Swansea and what he's carried on at Wigan and the way he gets his teams to play. I think he's going right to the top.

"It's a bad day for him but he'll come back from that even stronger, he'll learn a lot about his team and I'm sure next week they'll take it out on somebody else."