Honeymoons usually last for two weeks, but Harry Redknapp is showing few signs of allowing his end. Victory against NEC Nijmegen, a potentially tricky encounter, was more comfortable than the 1-0 scoreline would suggest, marking the sizeable strides taken since he inherited a disaffected band of players after their opening group D match of the Uefa Cup. Seven wins and only one defeat from nine matches is a better return than even he could have imagined.

It was not a sparkling display to compare to any of the memorable European evenings in the club’s history, but the workman-like performance was enough to effectively put them into the knock-out stages of the competition. They may need a draw against Spartak Moscow in three weeks time to be sure.

Tottenham were rarely in danger of conceding, but they could not take advantage after Jamie O’Hara’s early headed goal on a bitterly cold evening at the De Goffert stadium.

“Once in front we looked comfortable,” Redknapp said. “We have plenty to be through, but I keep thing that just means more games. Teams want to get into the Uefa Cup and then half want to get out for that reason. It was another clean sheet and winning is a good habit to enjoy. The players have given me everything.”

The pitch had been cleared of snow, but Redknapp complained that the surfaced disrupted their passing game. Redknapp experimented with a diamond formation, but switched to a flat midfield in the second half because they could not get David Bentley into the game.

Tottenham controlled vast possession but, through a combination of a poor final pass and a desire to play within themselves, rarely looked like scoring a second. Darren Bent fashioned the best opportunity when, beating his marker to Bentley’s zippy cross, he headed powerfully towards the top corner, but Gabor Babos, the Nijmegen goalkeeper, pushed over.

Heurelho Gomes was tested only once, parrying a low drive, and extended his record of having never been beaten by NEC during four years with PSV Eindhoven. He even clasped several long crosses without calamity. Redknapp put his third clean sheet in six matches down to working on adapting better to the English game.

“He looked very assured,” Redknapp said. “He took every cross and his confidence is coming back. Two consecutive clean sheets would do him no hard. Hopefully, he has been through the bad spell. The coaches have worked on giving him plenty of crosses and he has responded. Life is about confidence and, without it, you can’t perform.”

Jonathan Woodgate was dominant as captain, impressively blocking from Mostafa El-Kabir in the six-yard box, and Tom Huddlestone continued to impress in the holding role, albeit against meagre, tentative opposition. Tottenham snapped into challenges in the early stages and a battle between Michael Dawson and Jhonny van Beukering threatened to overspill on several occasions.

Tottenham took the lead when Gareth Bale crossed from the byline and an unbalanced Fraizer Campbell struck the bar from a few yards. O’Hara pounced to head in.

After a lazy, lethargic opening, Nijmegen woke up midway through the first half to exert some pressure. Youssef El Akchaoui's diagonal cross from left back dropped for Jhon van Beukering to turn and shoot.

Gomes pushed away and Gunter cleared from the advancing Lasse Schone. Soon after, El Akchaoui drove forward and scuffed a shot wide. Campbell headed weakly from Didier Zokora’s cross before the forward on loan from Manchester United was unable to turn in Bentley’s chip to the past post.

Jermaine Jenas failed a late test on a toe injury, but is expected to play against Everton on Sunday, before Tottenham play Watford in the Carling Cup quarter-finals. “Two more games after that and we could be at Wembley,” Redknapp said. “So it is a massive game.”

NEC Nijmegen (4-3-3): G Babos, D Fernandez (sub: J Tshibamba, 81), P Wisgerhof, R Zomer, Y El Akchaoui, B Sibum (sub: R Bouaouzan, 65), A Radomski (sub: D Kivuvu, 46), L Davids - M El-Kabir, J van Beukering, L Schone. Substitutes not used: R Baart, P Pothuizen, M Otten, T Janssen. Booked: Davids

Tottenham Hotspur (4-1-2-1-2): H Gomes, C Gunter, M Dawson, J Woodgate, G Bale, T Huddlestone, D Zokora, J O’Hara, D Bentley (sub: R Mason, 90), F Campbell (sub: J Obika, 84), D Bent (sub: A Lennon, 71). Substitutes not used: C Sanchez, B Assou-Ekotto, J Bostock, A Smith

Referee: Cesar Muniz Fernandez (Spain)