Harry Redknapp's Midas touch holds no fears for John Pantsil - he says Fulham can beat anyone at home.

The Whites are in bullish mood ahead of this week's derby with Spurs at Craven Cottage after Sunday's deserved win against Newcastle - which at a stroke lifted Fulham out of the bottom three and up to 10th place in the tightest of league tables.

But Tottenham should test Fulham's fine home record of four wins out of six. They are unbeaten since Redknapp took over from Juande Ramos, gaining 10 points out of 12 in the league and a 4-0 Uefa Cup win over Dinamo Zagreb.

None of that is a concern to Pantsil however, who was excellent against Newcastle, nullifying Damien Duff and frequently helping to launch attacks.

"With Tottenham, it will be a derby and we know it's a different ball game," Pantsil told the Gazette.

"But after we have beaten Arsenal, we are ready, no matter which team comes here and we will think only of winning.

"We are ready to face anyone. "Sometimes when a new manager comes in, the players want to prove that they are good and want to do extra things.

"But we don't care about what they are doing, we just want to keep our shape, keep our heads down and focus on our game to get three points.

"I don't think the Harry Redknapp factor will be important because we have got a good manager ourselves."

Pantsil says the team was unfazed being in the bottom three at start of play last week, only determined to get out of that position.

"Winning was the most important thing and that was all we were thinking about," he said. "But for us to find ourselves in the last three before the game, we said to ourselves: 'Where are we?'

"When we were about to start the league, we said we want to be in the first 10 and that's still the position we are looking at.

"We knew before the game what would happen if we didn't win and did everything to get the three points, so we are delighted with the performance.

"This year has been the toughest. One minute you can be down and the next you can be up and it's not going to be easy this season. So it's up to we the players to put our heads together and work harder so we can get higher in the league."

Pantsil has endeared himself to fans with his solo lap of honour after home games, which underlines the Ghanaian's determination to make the most of his time at the Cottage after a frustrating time at West Ham.

"At West Ham, the fans were also amazing, but I didn't get enough chances to play and do that," the defender said of his lap of honour routine.

"Here, I feel at home more than I did at West Ham and I appreciate everything the fans have done for me.

"They appreciate everything I do on the pitch and they deserve some applause to go home with for the way they get behind us and keep shouting for 90 minutes to keep the players going.

"What I want to do is repay them by taking the club into Europe."

Pantsil's form is keeping Swedish defender Freddie Stoor out of the side, but Pantsil rejects the notion that that is driving him on this season.

"I'm not thinking about keeping him out of the team, all I'm thinking about is playing well for my club and being in the first 10 or at least the middle of the league to keep the fans happy," he said.

"Freddie is a good player. Every player's going to get a chance to play and I'm sure he will get his time too.

"It's sometimes difficult for the manager to choose his players but it's up to the ones who are chosen to work hard so that we find ourselves again in the first XI."

Andy Johnson did his chances of an England recall no harm against Newcastle. While Michael Owen missed a sitter in front of watching England boss Fabio Capello, Johnson was sharpness personified.

He pounced on a defensive error to blast in the first and won the penalty which Danny Murphy netted for the winner. Match Summary FULHAM (1) 2 NEWCASTLE (0) 1 Line-up: Schwarzer; Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky; Davies, Murphy (Baird 88), Bullard, Gera (Dempsey 64); Johnson, Zamora (Nevland 74). Subs not used: Zuberbühler, Gray, Stoor, Andreasen. Attendance: 24,740 GOALS: Johnson (23), Ameobi (57), Murphy pen (66).

MoM: Andy Johnson  Next Up

TOTTENHAM

Craven Cottage Saturday 3pm Premier League

Manager: Harry Redknapp (above) Position last season: 11th Form Guide: Harry Redknapp's arrival has transformed Spurs and lifted them out of the bottom three. Home wins against Bolton (2-0) and Liverpool (2-1) plus that dramatic draw at Arsenal (4-4) got the season up and running and since then, there has been a Uefa Cup thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb (4-0),Man City away (2-1) on Sunday and Liverpool (4-2) in a midweek Carling Cup tie. Players to look out for: Darren Bent - a pale shadow of his former self under Juande Ramos - is a player reborn and five goals in two games has typified the Spurs' transformation. Frazier Campbell, on loan from Man United, is also looking good.

Most recent meetings: Tottenham 5-1 Fulham (26 Dec 2007); Fulham 3-3 Tottenham (1 Sep 2007) - Prem League. Head-to-head record: FFC Wins: 10 TH Wins: 33 Draws: 23 [25a0] Match Facts: Fulham have not managed a win in the last five encounters and have conceded 12 in the last three. The last win came in January 2006, when a last minute goal from Carlos Bocanegra gave the Whites a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage. Since reaching the Premier League, Fulham have won five, lost five and drawn four against Spurs. [

Forecast: A tough one to call, but with Spurs having rediscovered their backbone, a draw looks a likely outcome.

Gazette forecast success rate: 7 correct out of 13 (54%).