Spurs give Redknapp five reasons to stay in timely rout

After 72 hours of universal acclaim as the best man to succeed Fabio Capello as England manager, Harry Redknapp hardly needed to prove that he can build a team that can both win and entertain. But yesterday the Tottenham Hotspur side that he has assembled ensured that he did it anyway.

The players probably intended their imperious display to persuade their manager that he should remain where he is and lead them back into the Champions' League next season, and the Tottenham fans backed that up with their chants of "We want you to stay."

Redknapp, in return, was making all the right noises. "The crowd have been brilliant with me," he said. "I appreciate their support. I've loved my time here, it could not have gone better. We have good players, the chairman has been as good as gold, it couldn't have gone any better.

"Nothing's happened with the England job. No one has spoken to me or Daniel [Levy, the chairman] about it, and it wouldn't be fair to anyone here to think about it. Daniel gave me the job, he brought me to the club when there was a public court case hanging over me. So I owe him and we've been great for each other. At the moment I can't take my focus off Tottenham."

It is a measure of Redknapp's achievement that the strengthening of the club's hold on third place in the Premier League yesterday seemed almost a side issue. Louis Saha scored twice on his first start for Tottenham since moving from Everton last month, and formed a promising partnership with his former Metz team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor.

Alan Pardew, the Newcastle manager had ruled himself out of the England post, so this was not an eliminator for a place on what looks like becoming a one-man shortlist. But even Pardew's promising team, who have made their best start to a season since 2002-03, had no answer to Spurs' onslaught.

"We said before the game that they would want to show their manager that they wanted him to stay and that was pretty evident," Pardew said. "They were irresistible at times today and they are in the mix to be the best team we've played along with Manchester United and Man City. Harry is going to get a call I'm sure, and he'll make a decision but he's got a fantastic team here."

They subjected Pardew's team to a torrid opening 45 minutes. They were overrun in midfield, where Yohann Cabaye, Cheick Tioté and Ryan Taylor were badly missed, and the defence found Adebayor unplayable. He exchanged passes with Gareth Bale after four minutes before driving the ball across the face of Tim Krul's goal for Benoît Assou-Ekotto to score from a tight angle. Three minutes later, Adebayor was given little space by Fabricio Coloccini but still squeezed over a cross that Saha gleefully struck home.

The Newcastle supporters, who recalled that Redknapp had turned down the chance to manage at St James' Park in 2008, suggested that they did not altogether agree with Wednesday's "not guilty" verdict in his tax evasion trial, but Spurs silenced them after 19 minutes as Luka Modric crossed for Adebayor to set up Saha, and in the 34th minute Niko Kranjcar notched his first League goal for 12 months after Krul had saved from Adebayor, who became the first player this season to provide four assists in a Premier League game.

Redknapp punched the air as if he had just won, say, a European Championship final with England, and there was more to come after 64 minutes as Saha nodded back Assou-Ekotto's cross from the left-back for Adebayor to volley his first goal since 22 December.

"It was the most difficult week I've ever had for sure," Redknapp said. "But it's behind us now and the week's turned out good. If we can close on the front two, that will be fantastic but I really want us to get a Champions' League place." The fans will hope he is still around to enjoy it.

Tottenham (4-4-2): Friedel; Walker, Dawson, King (Nelsen, 75), Assou-Ekotto; Kranjcar, Parker, Modric, Bale (Lennon, 67); Saha (Defoe, 67), Adebayor.

Newcastle (4-3-3): Krul; Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Santon; Obertan (Ferguson, h-t), Perch, Guthrie (Lovenkrands, 86), Gutierrez; Ba, Cissé (Gosling, 68).

Referee Andre Marriner.

Man of the match Adebayor (Tottenham).

Match rating 8/10.