Harry Hou?

After the initial effect on Tottenham Hotspurs' fortunes which earned him the nickname Harry Houdini it appears that Harry Redknapp is fast running out of excuses and ideas.

In midweek they managed to see off Stoke City with a 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane but for anyone who saw the match it was far from a convincing performance and Stoke often exposed their defensive frailties. This was followed up today with a 3-2 defeat to Bolton Wanderers, a team that hadn't won a league match since December 20.

When Redknapp first arrived he was full of compliments for the squad he had inherited from the previous manager, Juande Ramos. Statements of intent along the line of "this squad is too good to be in the bottom half of the Premier League" and, when questioned whether he would try persuading David Beckham to White Hart Lane, "who needs Beckham when I've got (David) Bentley?" - those kind of statements, everything was 'cushty'.

The first few results suggested that Redknapp might be the right man for the job but as time has surpassed so has his memory of his initial opinions of the squad. Moaning about the squad depth and the lack of quality in certain areas of the pitch is surprising given that there are 12 regular international footballers at his disposal and a host of players on the fringe of the international stage -the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Aaron Lennon and Fraizer Campbell surely not far off.

Funny how you don't hear Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, or Tony Mowbray, the West Bromich Albion manager, bemoaning their 'lack of squad depth'. That's because they don't throw their toys out of the pram the moment it looks like a bit of elbow grease might be needed and, above all, because they have a style of play that they stick to religiously, regardless of how unconventional it may be. The long throws at Stoke may be a bit 'route one' but they're effective and they help win games and the passing game that saw West Brom win the Coca-Cola Championship last year hasn't been altered -in fact, Mowbray went on record to say that they won't change their style of play even if it sees them lose every game.

And this is one of the many problems that Redknapp must pay close attention to. He may have the credentials to keep Spurs' afloat in the Premiership but he isn't exactly breeding confidence within his squad.

Take for instance his fierce criticism of Darren Bent following his last-minute miss against Portsmouth two weeks ago where Redknapp said: "You will never get a better chance to win a match than that. My missus could have scored that one. Bent did not only have part of the goal to aim for, but he had the entire net - and he put it wide. Unbelievable. I was just so frustrated."

Yet it was Bent who almost saved Redknapp's blushes today, scoring two after coming on as a half-time substitute which lead to Redknapp, in David Brent-like fashion, conceding that "He's (Bent) got absolutely nothing to prove to me, I know he's a good player. He was excellent today and we need him here."

Redknapp's changed his tune but only because he now knows that Jermain Defoe, the player that he made Spurs re-sign for nearly £6 million more than what they sold him to Portsmouth for 12 months ago, looks set to be on the sidelines for several weeks with a foot injury.

And with just over a day left of the transfer window it will be interesting to see who Redknapp will bring in to halt the slide that, at present, sees his side sitting in 14th and only 2 points above West Brom who are at the bottom of the league.

And when the January transfer window finally closes so will Redknapp's mouth and the endless excuses and contradictions that flow from it because Spurs are now in need of a real Houdini act, not an imitation.