Redknapp wants Roman to stay

Harry Redknapp insists he does not want Roman Pavlyuchenko to leave Tottenham in January after watching the Russian fire his team to victory over Sunderland at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham failed to test Sunderland goalkeeper Keiren Westwood in a dull first half, but they sprung to life just after the hour when substitute Pavlyuchenko latched on to Rafael van der Vaart's reverse pass and fired home a powerful low drive.

And Redknapp said of the 30-year-old: "If you want someone to score he's always likely to. I want to keep all four (strikers). You need them all."

It was an exquisite finish from Pavlyuchenko, but he would not have even been on the pitch had it not been for the suspected hamstring tear which caused Aaron Lennon to be brought off in the first half.

Indeed, the striker may not have been in the Spurs matchday squad had Jermain Defoe not been ruled out prior to kick-off with a hamstring problem.

Pavlyuchenko has voiced his desire to leave White Hart Lane on a number of occasions this season after the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor and the form of Van der Vaart saw him drop down the pecking order at the north London club.

Redknapp admits he may struggle to keep Pavlyuchenko happy, but insists he will try to hang on to the Russian if he can.

"He's a fantastic player. He's got real talent. He's got great ability, I think. He's got a good left foot, a good right foot and is a great finisher," Redknapp said.

"He's top drawer but he's just been unlucky. He didn't start the season great. He hasn't really shown the form that he's capable of so he's slipped down the pecking order a bit.

"It's difficult. Some people are going to be upset they're not in the team."