Tottenham club captain Jamie Redknapp has welcomed the appointment of the club's new head coach Jacques Santini. Spurs have ended their long search for a successor to Glenn Hoddle by bringing in the current France manager.
"He comes with great credentials. All the players and fans will be very excited," Redknapp told BBC Five Live.
"To have been the French coach and worked with all those great players, I just hope that some of what he's taught them can rub off on us."
Redknapp added: "He's won the championship at Lyon and was a fantastic manager.
"It shows how good the Premiership is when you can attract the likes of Jose Mourinho and now Santini."
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said that he was delighted with the new acquisiton although confirmed that recently sacked Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri was also approached regarding the vacant role.
"We had a conversation with Claudio, but we also had a chat with a lot of people. And we were actually on our way to finalising the deal with Santini," Levy told BBC Five Live.
The Spurs chief added that the club's new sports director Frank Arnesen was the person responsible for bringing in Santini.
"Frank's been very important in this process. He decides who is head coach," he added.
Levy also confirmed David Pleat, who had been caretaker manager during the club's search for a new boss, would be leaving the club at the end of July.
Meanwhile, former player Gary Lineker admitted he had not expected Santini to be the new boss.
"It's an interesting one and come from leftfield. It's a bit of a surprise considering he's only been in the French job for two years," Lineker said.
But he added that Santini's appointment might attract some star names to north London.
"If you can get a good manager that comes in, turns things around and brings in a taste of success then you might bring in top players," said the former England striker.
"Of course, if France lose their first three games, they might then change their mind!"