Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp admits he had to overcome a huge battle to sign Scott Parker from West Ham United.

Redknapp admits a lot of people at the club were not convinced about signing Parker because of his age and his personal demands and has thanked chairman Daniel Levy for backing his judgement on the midfielder.

"The hardest signing for me was Scott Parker," Redknapp told the Daily Telegraph.

"It wasn't a deal that the club were crazy about, and I could see their point of view.

"Scott had a four-year contract at West Ham and he was on big money, by our standards. Tottenham don't pay the wages that Chelsea or Manchester City do, so there would be quite a gap.

"There was a feeling that bringing in Scott, 31 years of age and with no sell-on value, could be a problem. I argued that it was what he could give us this year and next that could make the difference. Daniel [Levy, Tottenham chairman] backed me on that."