Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has paid tribute to opponents Sunderland after his side's 1-0 win at White Hart Lane.

Roman Pavlyuchenko's strike just after the hour has lifted Spurs up to third in the Premier League table.

"It was a tough, tough game. We had to make lots of changes today," Redknapp told Sky Sports News.

"We lost Gareth Bale yesterday evening in training, he's got a bit of a sprain in his ankle, then we lost Aaron Lennon so we lost a lot of pace out of our team and that was a problem.

"No-one is going to be easy. They came here today and set themselves up well Sunderland. They always looked dangerous on the counter-attacks, so it was always going to be a tough game."

Redknapp's side next host Chelsea in the league on Thursday night.