Bent made to wait as Berbatov and Keane go for goal

The Tottenham manager was expected to start with the former Charlton goalscorer in this, the last of the club's pre-season friendlies — and their first at White Hart Lane.

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It seemed the perfect opportunity for the Dutchman to introduce Bent to his new fan base. Instead, he stuck by the tried and tested combination of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov.

Both strikers had scored before Bent was motioned off the bench in the 72nd minute to a roar of approval from the Spurs faithful.

The fans wanted to see how Keane's replacement would work alongside Berbatov but unfortunately,within seven minutes, Jol had replaced the classy Bulgarian with Jermain Defoe. It left them guessing about what formation their manager will settle for with the opening game at Sunderland just days away.

But afterwards Jol hinted that he could use three men in his attack, with Keane fulfilling a wide role and Berbatov and Bent foraging for the goals Tottenham hope can leapfrog them over Arsenal into that elite group that makes up the Premier League's top four.

After this strolling victory against Torino, Jol indicated that it is the diverse skills of Keane which could solve the problem. "Robbie is a team player," he said. "He can play wide and has done that for us on many occasions. But I don't want to confuse them with too many systems. I could easily have started with Robbie and used two other strikers."

Despite the confidence Tottenham's preseason has brought Jol's team — seven wins in seven matches — yesterday's performance was well short of perfection.

"Yes, it was easy," said Jol, "but how many chances did we make in that first halfhour. Not enough.We still have some fine tuning to do."

Bent didn't have enough time to make much of an impression, though his pace and touch is clearly going to be a considerable asset. He will also have the luxury of some company up front — something denied him at Charlton, where he played up front on his own.

Jol, like the player himself, does not believe the fee paid for him can disturb the player's equilibrium. 'It is not about a figure," said Jol.

The players who have cost Tottenham £39m in the close season were shown off to the fans before the start; Bent and Younes Kaboul ready for action alongside Gareth Bale and Kevin-Prince Boateng, neither of whom were involved yesterday.

On the face of it, Jol looks to have spent wisely, but this time it was the seasoned men who earned them victory.

Stand-in skipper Keane gave them the lead against the club who just managed to maintain their status in Serie A. Torino are sprinkled with class acts, but there was no defence to Keane's fierce, 16th-minute volley after a Jermaine Jenas free-kick was pushed on and eventually teed-up by Kaboul.

Berbatov looks to have carried on where he left off three months ago, full of smooth running and marvellous control with his scoring finish.

He struck the second in the 64th minute when he positioned himself to tap in a Steed Malbranque pass which came after a fine run.

Berbatov has scored far better goals,but every one adds to his confidence. Apart from Bale and Boateng, the only other big names missing from the Spurs squad were the injured England duo of Aaron Lennon and Ledley King.