THERE are two schools of thought when it comes to Harry Redknapp.

To some he is the happy-go-lucky, footballing wheeler-dealer, who had a bit of a cheek accepting the freedom of Portsmouth just a couple of days after walking out on the south coast club for Tottenham.

To others, and you suspect they include fair-minded Portsmouth fans who saw him save the club from almost certain relegation in 2006 and go on to win the FA Cup for them last season, he is a bit of a magician. A footballing Harry Potter, you might say.

As always the truth is somewhere in between as Tottenham fans no doubt will discover as Redknapp attempts to rescue the club from its dire position in the Premier League.

Redknapp has already started to do what comes so naturally.

In a matter of hours he raised hopes and injected optimism, his initial meeting with the players bringing Tottenham's first victory of the season, a 2-0 home win over Bolton.

Redknapp brings simplicity, a down-to-earth attitude and the vital commodity in any team sport of communication.

In that regard it is not difficult to improve on former boss Juande Ramos, whose press conferences, let alone team-talks, had become an exercise in rearranging barely decipherable words into even lesser known phrases.

But Redknapp is more than just a communicator. He is a manager with the knack of maximising a player's talents while building the crucial ingredient of team togetherness.

What's his secret? 'It's really very simple,' his footballer-turned-pundit son Jamie revealed. 'He makes a player feel special.'

Players instinctively recognise Redknapp as a footballing man, one with an astute eye for a player, one who understands the nuances of the game.

Harmony

They seem to like him and while it is not a prerequisite for an employee to like his boss, the chances of the two working in harmony are greatly increased if he does.

Which is why his decision to reinstate to the first-team squad the five players exiled under Ramos - Hossam Ghaly, Paul Stalteri, Ricardo Rocha, Kevin Prince-Boateng and Adel Taarabt - was typical Redknapp.

At a stroke he has five players on side, providing extra competition and strength in depth.

Football is about confidence. But it is also about cohesion and class. Tottenham have class in such players as Jonathan Woodgate and Luka Modric, but lack clout.

The chances, however, are that Tottenham will steadily climb the table, especially if Redknapp can wheel and deal to form.

Redknapp claims he will not be going back to Portsmouth for players but it cannot be denied that ex-Spurs striker Jermain Defoe, now at Fratton Park, would fit the current bill snugly at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham need a goal-poacher, a 25-goals-a-season striker to replace the firepower lost by the sales of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov.

That will be Redknapp's short-term priority.

In the long term, Redknapp is in unknown territory. For the first time he is in charge of a club whose fans expect their football to come with style while competing in Europe and challenging teams such as Manchester United.

Fans who expect to win trophies, even if the source of their expectation is based in the Double-winning glory of yesteryear.

Many have tried and failed to resurrect those days of Danny Blanchflower and Jimmy Greaves and the great Bill Nicholson.

At 61 and presumably embarking on his last big challenge, the experienced Redknapp has as good a chance as any.

One thing is certain. If he succeeds, they would make him a freeman of Tottenham.