Harry Redknapp readies the reserves as Tottenham prepare for Milan

As Tottenham prepare to resume hostilities in the Champions League with a return to San Siro a week tomorrow, this time to meet Milan, the strength in depth of Harry Redknapp's squad is looking variable. At the shallow end his defensive options remain narrow but the situation improves further upfield, as the stoppage-time victory over Bolton showed on Saturday. These days Niko Kranjcar spends so many games on the Spurs bench that he might as well bring along his slippers and a good book. But having replaced Wilson Palacios 12 minutes from the end of a fast, open-ended game, with the score 1-1 and each side pressing for a winner, the Croat gathered a pass from another substitute, Roman Pavlyuchenko, feinted to shoot with his right foot and sent the defenders the wrong way before switching the ball to his left and beating Jussi Jaaskelainen with a marvellous shot into the top right-hand corner of the net. Redknapp originally signed Kranjcar for Portsmouth from Hadjuk Split in the summer of 2006, then bought him again at the beginning of last season after losing Luka Modric for three months with a leg fracture. Once Modric was fit Kranjcar became a spare wheel in Tottenham's midfield, useful to have around although they hoped they would not have to use him. To some he might have seemed a likely candidate for offloading in the recent transfer window but that was never Redknapp's intention. "He didn't want to move and I didn't want to push him out," the Spurs manager said. "Last year he was one of the players of the season. He trains hard and he has a great attitude. He doesn't spit his dummy out when he is not in the side." With Rafael van der Vaart joining Modric and Gareth Bale in the treatment room after suffering a calf injury against Bolton, Kranjcar, like Jermaine Jenas, remains a useful alternative in Redknapp's midfield. And up front Pavlyuchenko, another spare part whose continued employment at White Hart Lane has been open to question, will need to hang around a while longer as Tottenham seek to make progress in this season's Champions League while ensuring their participation in the next. The victory enabled Spurs to continue snapping at the heels of the top four although it was a close-run thing against Owen Coyle's enterprising Bolton who were unlucky not to break a barren run which has now seen them lose six away games in succession. Here they were not so much clattered as Clattenburged, referee Mark Clattenburg that is, whose decisions lurched between the punctilious and the bizarre. On a day that rained goals almost everywhere else White Hart Lane had a short, sharp shower of penalties, two of which were awarded to Spurs in the space of three minutes early in the game. Van der Vaart put away the first after Kevin Davies had handled and the second after Aaron Lennon had been brought down by Sam Ricketts. But the referee spotted Jermain Defoe encroaching and when the Dutchman tried again his kick went wide. Then Clattenburg gave Tottenham a penalty for handball by Mark Davies only to rescind the decision when it turned out a linesman had been flagging for offside. Shortly after the persistent, perceptive Daniel Sturridge had brought the scores level just before the hour Bolton thought they had got a penalty when Gary Cahill tumbled over the outstretched leg of Steven Pienaar, who replaced Van der Vaart, but instead Cahill was booked for diving. "It was a stonewall penalty," said Coyle. "The lad's left his leg out and Gary's tried to step over him to get his shot away." Redknapp was inclined to agree : "It might well have been a penalty. If it was we've got away with it." With Johan Elmander heading against the bar midway through the first half and Sturridge often finding space near goal as the defenders concentrated on Kevin Davies, Bolton always thought they could win and Coyle's second-half substitutions, which brought Lee Chung-yong and Martin Petrov into the attack, confirmed that the days of pulling everyone back to hold on for a point are long gone. Yet when Defoe wasted a good chance for Spurs and a Jenas free-kick came off a post it looked a draw until Kranjcar intervened. A good win, then, for a depleted Spurs but they will need to be up to strength for what may be the start of another Milanese rollercoaster in eight days' time.