Villas-Boas warns Redknapp off Defoe

Andre Villas-Boas is sure Harry Redknapp will keep QPR up, but he has told his predecessor to forget the idea of bolstering his struggling strikeforce with a January bid for Jermain Defoe.

Redknapp has already highlighted a lack of firepower up front as his main concern, with Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora both out with long-term injuries. That immediately sparked speculation linking Redknapp with Defoe - a striker with whom he has worked at Tottenham, West Ham and Portsmouth.

But when asked about the prospect of Defoe leaving in January Villas-Boas said: "That's not possible. It's absolutely impossible. We have the belief in him."

The Tottenham manager's belief in Defoe is so strong that he even considers the England striker to be on a par with Radamel Falcao - the Colombian striker who scored bags of goals for Villas-Boas at FC Porto and is now setting the Spanish league alight with Atletico Madrid.

"He is one of the best strikers I have worked with," Villas-Boas said of Defoe, who has scored 10 times for Spurs this year. I certainly put him alongside Falcao.

"His hunger for goal is extreme. That makes things easier for you to work with because you don't have to teach a lot.

"I don't have a lot of experience. The experience I have is with a couple of strikers, but I put him up there with the best."

Villas-Boas refused to take a similar stance on Michael Dawson, however.

Dawson turned down a £9million move to Loftus Road in the summer, but Redknapp is thought to be interested in signing the Spurs skipper in January.

"I think if that possibility arises we will have to consider it," said Villas-Boas, who has only given Dawson one league start this term. "But we're not looking to make a lot in the January transfer window."