Harry Redknapp won the FA Cup with Portsmouth last season and he took the first step towards a nostalgic return to Wembley Stadium last night when Tottenham Hotspur beat Wigan Athletic at a freezing White Hart Lane.

Tottenham flattered to deceive for much of a pedestrian third-round tie, but at least they provided a smattering of warmth for their fans with three second-half goals.

Wigan did stage a late rally and, with two minutes remaining, reduced the deficit to 2-1 when Henri Camara drove in from close range after a goalmouth scramble. The worst fears of an agitated Tottenham crowd were not realised, however, with Roman Pavlyuchenko, the Russia striker, scoring his second goal of the game with a swirling shot near the end of stoppage time.

Redknapp was delighted with the hard-earned victory. Despite Tottenham facing a battle against relegation from the Barclays Premier League, their cups runneth over. They are in the fourth round of the FA Cup, the semi-finals of the Carling Cup — they play the first leg against Burnley at White Hart Lane on Tuesday — and have reached the round of 32 in the Uefa Cup.

However, much of Redknapp’s pleasure last night was diluted by the treatment of Hossam Ghaly, the Egypt midfield player. Ghaly has not featured in a Tottenham line-up since throwing his shirt to the floor after being substituted by Martin Jol, the former Tottenham head coach, in a match against Blackburn Rovers in May 2007.

With Tottenham leading 2-0 last night, Redknapp told Ghaly to take off his tracksuit top. This was greeted by jeers from some home fans, at which point Redknapp decided against using him. “That’s not what you need at 2-0 up and with everyone buoyant,” Redknapp said. “I didn’t want him running on with everyone booing and shouting abuse. I didn’t want the atmosphere to change,

“I wanted the people to support us, but obviously they’d got the hump. I asked Hossam what he had done, I didn’t really know what it was all about. I spoke to him afterwards and he said, ‘I threw my shirt down.’ I felt sorry for the boy.”

Gilberto, the Brazilian full back, has received similar treatment from the Tottenham fans in the past and Redknapp admitted that he might have to leave the club. “We’re two strikers short and we’ve got two players who can’t play because the crowd doesn’t like them,” Redknapp said. “I think all I’ve got left that they \ like is a squad of about nine.”

Redknapp could have been excused for fielding a weakened side but he chose as strong a starting line-up as was available, with the possible exception of Aaron Lennon. After five matches without a win, several of the Tottenham players had something to prove.

Steve Bruce, the Wigan manager, had few options left to him, with injuries forcing the absence of Emile Heskey and Amr Zaki, his first-choice strikers, and Chris Kirkland, his No 1 goalkeeper. Lee Cattermole, the industrious midfield player, was also missing through suspension.

Wigan arrived, though, on the back of a run of five wins in six matches, played with confidence and moved the ball around swiftly and with apparent ease. Tottenham offered little in response, but, as an uninspiring first half drew to a close, they actually fashioned a move of rare invention.

Jamie O’Hara drilled in a low cross from the left, Pavlyuchenko dummied it and Luka Modric attempted a shot on the turn. Like so much that had gone before, though, it lacked menace.

Richard Kingson, on his debut in the Wigan goal, saved comfortably. In the 52nd minute, the deadlock was mercifully broken. Gareth Bale set off on a run and the ball broke kindly in a challenge for Fraizer Campbell, a first-half replacement for the injured Darren Bent. Campbell skipped through and was brought down by Kingson.

Alan Wiley, the referee, might have handed the Ghana goalkeeper a red card but correctly decided that Campbell had been veering away from goal. Kingson was booked nonetheless, but the harsher punishment awaited when Pavlyuchenko sent him the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Suddenly, Tottenham awoke. It did, though, take two touches of good fortune to allow them to increase their lead. Maynor Figueroa, on as a substitute at full back for Wigan, was lying injured at the wrong end of the pitch as Tottenham pushed forward. O’Hara took advantage of the extra space and drilled a low shot against a post. Modric fell over in following up but managed to raise his head high enough to nod into the empty net.

“Figueroa had a nasty gash on his leg,” Bruce said. “I don’t think the Tottenham ’keeper \ saw that the lad was injured, so he couldn’t throw the ball out of play. Too many people make too much over issues like this, but it did go against us. It was a key moment.”

Camara gave Wigan hope — not that anyone really wanted a replay — but Pavlyuchenko settled the home nerves with his ninth goal of the season. “We did enough to win,” Redknapp said. “But I probably still need to get in another two or three new players. We’ve just got so many games.”

Tottenham Hotspur (4-1-3-2) H Gomes - V Corluka, M Dawson, J Woodgate, G Bale - D Zokora - D Bentley, L Modric (sub: A Lennon, 90min), J O'Hara - R Pavlyuchenko, D Bent (sub: F Campbell, 27). Substitutes not used: B Alnwick, H Ghaly, C Gunter, A Taarabt, K-P Boateng.

Wigan Athletic (4-4-2) R Kingson - E Boyce, P Scharner (sub: M Figueroa, 73), T Bramble, K Kilbane - D de Ridder (sub: T Cywka, 74), M Brown, W Palacios, L A Valencia - O Kapo (sub: E Edman, 84), H Camara. Substitutes not used: M Pollitt, R Taylor, J Routledge, J Holt. Booked: Palacios, Kingson.

Referee: A Wiley.