Ten-man Bolton slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, as the hosts recorded their first Premier League victory of the season thanks to a goal in each half from Roman Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent.

The Russian striker headed Spurs in front early on before Bent picked himself up the floor to convert from the penalty spot with a quarter of an hour remaining in the contest. Gavin McCann had been sent for an early shower on 56 minutes for two bookable offences.

The build-up to the fixture had been dominated with events off the field rather than on it as the Bolton players and staff awoke to the shock news that their opponents had parted company with manager Juande Ramos and immediately installed Harry Redknapp as the Spaniard's successor.

Indeed, the former Portsmouth boss was paraded around White Hart Lane prior to kick-off before he took up a position next to Clive Allen in the home dugout.

It wasn't officially Redknapp's first game in command, but he appeared to take a hands on approach as he marshalled the technical area throughout the whole game, bellowing instructions at every possible opportunity.

His arrival seemed to have an immediate impact on his new players as Spurs started the game in confident fashion, creating a few half openings.

Jamie O'Hara, who had been dismissed in Tottenham's previous match in the UEFA Cup against Udinese in midweek, came close with a deflected drive in the opening five minutes from just outside the box, while Jermain Jenas peppered the Bolton goal with another long range attempt that was again off target.

With 17 minutes on the clock it was Roman Pavlyuchenko who claimed the first goal of game, as he guided a pinpoint David Bentley cross past Jaaskelainen with his head after a bit of help from the far post. It was the Russian international's first goal at his new home following a £14m transfer from Spartak Moscow.

Despite slipping behind, Bolton looked dangerous in attack and were unfortunate not to grab an equaliser on a couple of occasions before half-time. Firstly Kevin Davies was inches away from finding the net with a sliding finish from an acute angle after confusion in the Spurs penalty box, while Johan Elmander struck the upright from about 8 yards out with just over half an hour on the clock.

After the break Bolton came out of the traps the brightest and dominated possession in the early stages after the restart.

However, the dismissal of Gavin McCann completely changed the context of the game. A late tackle on Tom Huddlestone earned the midfielder his second yellow card of the afternoon and Bolton were forced to play the rest of the match with only ten men.

The momentum swung back in Tottenham's direction although Fabrice Muamba almost levelled with a tidy lob from just outside the box following Gomez's punch. The Brazilian goalkeeper looked dodgy all afternoon, but on this occasion he got lucky as Muamba's finish landed on the roof of the net rather than nestling in it.

Then the Wanderers were hit with the sucker punch with 75 minutes on the clock. Darren Bent, who had only been on the field for ten minutes, took a dubious looking tumble inside the penalty area after a collision with Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Referee Marriner decided there had been sufficient contact with the Bolton stopper and he awarded the home side a spot kick, which Bent duly converted after picking himself up off the turf.

From that point onwards the contest seemed over as Tottenham continued to press. David Bentley wasted a golden chance to add to the score following a swift counter attack which saw four Spurs attackers take on two Bolton defenders.

Riga and Ricardo Gardner were brought on in the final stages by Gary Megson, but Spurs saw the game out to give Harry Redknapp and Tottenham their first Premier League victory of the season.