Villas-Boas responds to Redknapp

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas hit back at apparent criticism from predecessor Harry Redknapp in the wake of Spurs' 3-1 victory over Reading.

Redknapp, who was sacked by the White Hart Lane club in the summer and replaced by Villas-Boas, questioned the approach of some modern mangers.

Although he did not name Villas-Boas directly, Redknapp caused something of a stir when he told the Daily Mail: "These days you're getting 70-page dossiers on this and that. B******t can baffle brains at times."

Villas-Boas, who compiles detailed reports on his team's opponents, brushed off the comments and joked that his predecessor may have been talking about the methods of Jose Mourinho, with whom the Portuguese worked at Chelsea and Inter Milan.

"In the end it's not about the manager, it's about the players. They bring you success," Villas-Boas said.

"Different kinds of managers have different leadership styles and the way they go about his business.

"I'm not sure if Harry was mentioning that about Jose but if he is it's very strange."

Meanwhile Jermain Defoe hopes Villas-Boas' doubters will be eating a large portion of humble pie after the victory at the Madejski.

Two points, and a couple of questionable displays, in their opening three matches had left some doubting whether Daniel Levy had made a mistake in ditching Redknapp for 34-year-old Villas-Boas.

Yet there was no talk of crisis after the final whistle on Sunday night as Spurs cruised to a 3-1 win at Reading with a performance that, at times, was reminiscent of the pulsating counter-attacking football the team displayed so well under Redknapp.

Defoe was key to the performance, the 29-year-old converting Kyle Walker's cross to put Spurs ahead before he killed the game off with a magnificent solo effort in the second half.

Defoe, whose place in the Tottenham squad had been in doubt this summer, hopes the victory will have silenced those who doubted Villas-Boas and Spurs.

"Hopefully the fans are happy and everyone who has been doubting us will hopefully look at us and think we'll do well this season and kick on from here now," Defoe said.

"It's normal that things take time when a new manager comes to a club.

"You have world-class players come to clubs and people think they will be unbelievable instantly, but it takes time."

The only negative to come out of Sunday's win for Villas-Boas was the news that Benoit Assou-Ekotto will be out for four weeks with a knee injury.

"Benoit has a small fragment in his knee that makes it swell a lot," said Villas-Boas, who played Kyle Naughton instead of the Cameroon defender at Reading.

"He has played through pain in the last couple of games. His knee may have to be washed up and if that happens we are looking at a four-week absence."