Harry Redknapp says Rafael van der Vaart will be crucial to Tottenham Hotspur success
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has spoken of his belief that Rafael van der Vaart will be crucial to his side’s chances of success this season.
The Dutch playmaker arrived from Real Madrid on the transfer deadline day for a fee of eight million pounds. Van der Vaart has already begun to justify his price tag with a string of top displays in both the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
Despite having been a Spurs player for less than a month, Van der Vaart is held in high esteem by his manager, who has begun to use him as the focal point for his team’s play and is starting to build the rest of his starting lineup around the player in order
to utilise his considerable talents.
In an interview with CNN, Redknapp was asked whether he could shape Van der Vaart, who featured for his country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final, into an even better player.
He replied, "Yeah, I think everybody can improve — I think everybody's open to improvement. I think confidence is key as well if you like...Van der Vaart was a bit part player at Real Madrid. He wasn't in the team, he was on the bench or whatever in the
end and his confidence was low. He's come here and we've made him feel very important. He's a key player in our team and we base a lot of our game around the way he plays and where we play him."
Van der Vaart has netted once in his four matches for Spurs so far, with his strike coming from the penalty spot in a 3-1 league win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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