"There is obviously a big gulf. It's plain for anybody to see. It is a different level now, for sure - it's pretty obvious. Resources are completely different."

So said Harry Redknapp after the 5-0 thrashing of Hearts in the Europa League, but perhaps his statement could have applied just as well to the game at Old Trafford which Man Utd ended up winning at a canter. If anyone wanted an illustration of the difference in quality between teams in the top divisions in Scotland and England, here was as good an example as any, especially since Spurs fielded essentially the same starting eleven on both occasions.

The one difference between the two lineups was in goal, with Brad Friedel making his Spurs debut against Utd. When the keeper is your man of the match it tells its own story and, but for the big American, the scoreline could easily have made embarrassing reading. Friedel's record for making the most consecutive Premier League appearances carries on and Heurelho Gomes is certainly going to have his work cut out to bring it to an end.

Spurs played well enough in the first half, although without ever posing a real threat to Utd. How much that was down to the lack of a cutting edge that Luka Modric might have provided is open to question, but a player of his undoubted ability is always going to be missed. The whole situation is now, frankly, a mess. One minute the manager seems resigned to the player leaving, the next he is parroting Daniel Levy's tough talking.

Apparently Modric did not take part in Monday's game because "his head is not right", which naturally begs the question as to when it will be. Sooner rather than later would be the obvious hope. One nightmare scenario is that he does move to Chelsea, but without leaving sufficient time for a replacement to be brought in before the transfer deadline window slams shut.

In the meantime, work continues to try to bring Emmanuel Adebayor to White Hart Lane. To say that the Togolese striker divides opinion would be an understatement. On the one hand he has shown his ability to score goals in the Premier League, yet this is also a player whose lack of application can make Dimitar Berbatov look like a frenetic worker ant. In that sense, a loan deal would clearly be a lower risk option, although it might also have the effect of suppressing Adebayor's motivation still further, if such a thing were possible. Harry has talked in terms of bringing in "one or two that will give us a little bit more backbone, a bit of grit". Presumably, then, that's in addition to Adebayor.

So numerous questions remain - not the best situation to be in, given that the season is now underway, after a delayed start for Spurs. The second leg against Hearts will be a formality but the next league game against the other team from Manchester will be anything but.

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