Harry Redknapp was back in the dugout to see his Tottenham Hotspur side beat Watford 1-0 at Vicarage Road and claim a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The 64-year-old manager, who is midway through his two-week trial on charges of tax evasion, named a strong side for the trip to face the Championship club, but Rafael van der Vaart's fortuitous goal in the run-up to half-time was all that sealed victory for an off-colour Spurs.

Watford manager Sean Dyche will be wondering how his side did not even get on the scoresheet, never mind cause an upset, after they had 25 shots on goal but were unable to beat Carlo Cudicini.

Redknapp was without the injured Gareth Bale, but he did name a side which included Van der Vaart, Emmanuel Adebayor, Jermain Defoe, Luka Modric and Scott Parker as he seemed determined to end a torrid week off the field with a win on it. Despite that, they were second-best throughout and can consider themselves fortunate to be in the draw for the next round.

Watford may be 35 places below Spurs in the league pyramid but they were the better side for much of the opening 45 minutes.

Sean Murray had the game's first chance on seven minutes when he robbed Luka Modric of the ball, cut into the box and hit a low strike that goalkeeper Cudicini could only palm away. Younes Kaboul reacted quickest to deny Marvin Sordell a close-range opportunity on the follow-up.

The England under-21 international then guided Troy Deeney's ball across the six-yard box wide after nipping in between Kaboul and Michael Dawson, and just moments later Ghanaian midfielder Prince Buaben fired a well-struck effort from range that whistled past the near upright.

With Bale out and Lennon named on the bench the lack of width from Spurs played into Watford's hands as they packed the midfield.

However, three minutes before half-time Spurs made the most of a Watford attack fizzling out by hitting them on the break. Kyle Walker bursts down the right before playing the ball inside to Van der Vaart. The Dutchman was allowed to run into space and his speculative effort from 20 yards caught goalkeeper Scott Loach off guard and squirmed under his hands into the net.

The goal was Van der Vaart's first in the FA Cup, but he and his team-mates should have felt a little sheepish about going into the break with a one-goal lead, such was their lacklustre showing.

Redknapp brought Lennon on at half-time in place of Modric, but Watford remained the better side.

Early in the second half John Eustace fired over the bar from a corner before, just moments later, Sean Murray's exquisite finish rebounded off the far post and Troy Deeney's follow-up effort went wide.

Walker forced Loach into tipping his header over the bar before Van der Vaart fair rattled the frame of the goal with a rasping effort, but the Hornets can still feel aggrieved that they did not at least force a replay.

Former Tottenham trainee Mark Yeates was introduced with little more than 20 minutes remaining, and the Irish midfielder floated in a free-kick that sparked pandemonium in the Spurs box. New signing Nyron Nosworthy had his effort blocked by the feet of Cudicini and Buaben's shot on the rebound was blocked by Walker.

Yeates himself then had the chance to level against his old club when Sordell motored to the byline and pulled a pass back to him, but his strike cannoned off the back of Dawson, who appeared to know little about it.

The victory will have been a slight boon for Redknapp after the week he has had, but it might be Dyche who is the happier of the two managers after their respective teams' performances.

Tony Mabert - @tony_mabert / Eurosport