Source: PA
Rafa must get fitter - Redknapp
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes deadline-day signing Rafael van der Vaart needs to improve his fitness.
The 27-year-old has become a firm favourite at his new club since joining Spurs from Real Madrid for £8million on September 1, scoring in all six of his matches at White Hart Lane.
But Redknapp reckons the Holland midfielder showed signs of fatigue towards the end of Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Sunderland and still needs to fully adapt to playing in the Barclays Premier League.
Quoted in several newspapers, Redknapp said: "He should be okay for the weekend [against Blackburn]. He got tired, didn't he? He disappeared a bit, second half [against Sunderland].
"He's got to get fitter and adapt to playing 90 minutes in the Premier League. He's a fantastic player but I think he does just run out of steam a little bit at the moment."
Van der Vaart aggravated a hamstring injury in Tottenham's 3-1 win over Inter Milan last month and sat out last weekend's 4-2 defeat at Bolton before making a goalscoring return to the side against the Black Cats.
