LONDON - HARRY Redknapp hopes to follow his swoop for Jermain Defoe with a host of new signings to bolster Tottenham's bid for cup glory.

Redknapp's League Cup holders moved within touching distance of a second successive final appearance by thrashing Burnley 4-1 in the semi-final first leg at White Hart Lane on Tuesday.

But despite the one-sided nature of the scoreline, Tottenham were totally outplayed by their Championship opponents in the first half and Redknapp is more convinced than ever that new recruits are needed to continue the north London club's recent revival.

Redknapp has tied up a deal to bring Defoe back to Spurs from Portsmouth in a 15 million pounds transfer worth around 60,000 pounds a week to the England striker.

But the Spurs boss is desperate to add some experience to the squad he inherited from Juande Ramos.

'It's been a badly balanced, badly put-together squad from day one,' Redknapp said. 'I'd like to get three or four decent players in. I think we need them. There are some young players here and there's a bit of experience and know-how missing at times.

'I'm having a look at Stephen Appiah. I watched him six or seven times when he was playing for Ghana but Juventus wouldn't sell. He's a good player and could be a good signing if he is fit.

'The chairman knows the situation. We need a certain type of player. We've got an awful lot of good little players but we need more strength and power in that team.' Redknapp insisted his move for Defoe was not a case of taking advantage of his former club.

'I didn't go and rape Portsmouth at all,' he said. 'Portsmouth wanted to sell Jermain Defoe to whoever was going to pay some decent money.

'It wasn't a case that I went back there and upset Jermain to get him to join us. It's a fantastic deal for Portsmouth with the money they've earned for him.' While Redknapp ponders his transfer options he can look forward to another trip to Wembley less than a year after leading Portsmouth to FA Cup glory.

After watching Spurs trail to Martin Paterson's early goal on Tuesday, Redknapp gave his players an ear-bashing at half-time before sending on Jamie O'Hara for David Bentley. It was the decisive moment as O'Hara scored once and set up two more goals.

'It's the first time I've really gone into one since I've been here,' Redknapp said. 'I was disappointed but it did the trick.

'I went on for about 15 minutes. People will accept making mistakes and giving the ball away, but they won't accept giving up when you lose the ball.

'I said I would find out an awful lot about a lot of them in the second half. We had to show what we were made of because we were under a bit of pressure. The response was fantastic.

'Jamie came on and gave us terrific balance and great effort. He had a hand in the goals and he was tremendous.

'It's not over but if we can't defend a three-goal lead then there is something wrong lets be honest.' Paterson opened the scoring when he tapped-in Chris Eagles' cross and Burnley could have been further ahead before half-time.

But Michael Dawson headed in O'Hara's corner just after the break and O'Hara added the second himself.

Roman Pavlyuchenko curled in the third after 65 minutes and Michael Duff headed O'Hara's free-kick into his own net two minutes later to leave Burnley's Wembley dreams in tatters.

After beating Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal already this season, Clarets boss Owen Coyle admitted they will need a miracle to claim another scalp in the second leg at Turf Moor in two weeks.

'If you analyse it there wasn't three goals between the teams but that's the nature of playing teams at the highest level,' Coyle said.

'It's disappointing because I felt if we kept it nice and compact we would have had a reasonable chance in the second leg.

'As it is we've given ourselves more than a mountain to climb.' -- AFP