Party for Spurs as Bent sinks treble

Huddlestone's confidence was very low under Ramos this season, and Redknapp said: "Tom has to keep believing in how good he can be, because he has everything you need to be a top player.

"He has it all. He is such a fantastic passer of the ball, and he has great feet and good ability. It was a good performance, and important to get a win under our belt in this competition.

"To play as we did, and score the four goals, was encouraging. It has been terrific since I took over, so let's hope we can keep it going for a while yet."

After such an easy victory, Redknapp must ensure his team do not get over confident as they prepare to face Manchester City on Sunday.

Spurs are still bottom of the Premier League and Mark Hughes' team will provide a far sterner test than the Croatians did last night. Indeed, Dinamo's followers posed far more of a danger than their players ever did. Five of their supporters were ejected at half-time after lighting flares in the away end, while several fans clashed with stewards and police.

Riot police were introduced into there area of the South Stand during the second half, and the atmosphere quickly became far more convivial, with the home fans even joining in with the visitors' relentless singing and dancing in the final minutes.

It is remarkable that the Dinamo fans could stay cheerful after watching their team play so poorly. From the moment Bent struck after half an hour, scoring via a deflection following Huddlestone's cross from the left had reached him, Dinamo appeared to surrender.

Three minutes later, Luka Modric, who was very impressive against the club he left to join Spurs in the summer, and David Bentley combined to set up Huddlestone. The midfielder feigned to shoot before sliding the ball to Bent, who supplied a composed finish from 12 yards.

Spurs were even more dominant after half-time, and claimed their third when Bentley chipped a corner back towards Huddlestone, whose thumping 25-yard volley flew into the bottom corner of the net.

Twenty minutes from time, Huddlestone provided another super pass for Bent, who guided the ball beyond home for his first treble since Ipswich's 3-1 win at Walsall four years ago.

The one sour note for Redknapp was the news of an injury to Giovani Dos Santos, the young Mexican signed from Barcelona in the summer, who has yet to feature for the former Portsmouth manager.

Giovani damaged his ankle in training on Monday, and Redknapp revealed the forward would be out of action "for a while".

Redknapp is keen to use the UEFA Cup to give some of Spurs' youth prospects first-team experience, and John Bostock, aged 16 years and 295 days, became the youngest player to appear for the club in a competitive game when he replaced Bentley in the 79th minute.

During his brief spell on the pitch, Bostock found Bent with a crisp 20-yard pass, before he was just off target with a fierce drive from 25 yards. It was a tantalising glimpse of what Bostock might achieve, perhaps sooner rather than later.

Redknapp said: "It is good to bring the young players in. John's a confident boy, with great ability."