Tottenham defender Ledley King has paid tribute to teammate Jonathan Woodgate.

"Woody's a great player," King told the club's website. "Without taking anything away from my other partners, he's probably the person I've connected with easiest in terms of a partnership.

"The Carling Cup Final was our first game together, we'd hardly trained before that but we seemed to click together straight away.

"We're quite similar and it seems to work. We're both experienced, both been through problems and maybe that makes us somehow help each other out and know each other's games and what to expect from each other.

"It's about working together and helping each other and we seem to do that well.

"I remember playing with him a couple of times all the way back in our England youth days but I don't think you realise how good someone is until you train with them every day and he's definitely a great player."

Michael Dawson makes it a terrific trio of central defenders at Harry Redknapp's disposal.

"Michael has been fantastic and whenever he plays he does a great job - we've some very good defenders at the club and that means competition for places and that's ideal for the club because it brings the best out of everyone," added King.