Joe Kinnear had the uncontrollable smile of a man who has just checked his coupon and won the pools jackpot as he left the dugout after Wimbledon's totally satisfying 3-1 dismissal of his old club Tottenham at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Of course it was the best possible start to the new Premiership season - with the Dons among the favourites for relegation. So Kinnear and his merry men will be travelling to Derby tomorrow (Saturday) brim full of confidence.

"How many of you said we are going down?" was the manager's taunt aimed at Dons' doubters. "We're top of the league, what more do you lot want?"

Kinnear also answered the many fans who have been surprised and disappointed that, alone among Premiership managers, he has not added a single player to his squad during the summer months.

"One answer is that I have every confidence in the ability of the players I have here," he explained.

"The other reason is that there might be players out there who are as good as what I've got, but for the money I have available to spend, there aren't any I've seen who are better than those I already have. That's not to say that I'm not still looking," the manager said.

The thinking was hard to fault on the basis of Saturday's exhibition. There were no noticeable weaknesses either in attack or defence and one or two outstanding performances especially up front.

For a club so much better endowed financially, Tottenham had only one new face to introduce to the large support that followed them to SE25, the £1.3m Italian Paolo Tramezzani signed from Serie A club Piacenza.

The first period was a scrappy early season affair with the midfield stiflingly overcrowded and the ball in the air more often that it was on the ground.

Shots on goal were few and far between and after 45 minutes a half-time cup of tea and cheese sandwich was quite the most exciting event of the day.

Something special must have been put in the players' tea, however, because straight from the resumption the pace stepped up and Wimbledon swept forward and won a free kick on the left. Alan Kimble flicked the ball to Michael Hughes, who crossed to the far post. It looked like a goalkeeper's ball but Robbie Earle leapt athletically to beat Ian Walker and head into an empty goal.

On the hour Michael Hughes was again involved as he made a jinking run down the left before crossing. The Spurs' defence was in disarray and Efan Ekoku placed his header carefully out of the reach of the diving Walker.

The 23,000 crowd then saw a yellow card for David Ginola; proof of the existence of this season's crackdown on over-dramatic diving.

In this case Ginola made a meal of a challenge on the half way line and lay writhing on the ground (he could never have been that close to death!) as Wimbledon pressed forward. Referee Graham Poll waved play on until the move was over, then returned to the prostrate Frenchman to issue the caution. And would you believe it, of course you would, Ginola pleaded innocence. Is professional pride something that has gone out the game?

Ginola is much too good a player to get himself involved in such childish histrionics. But suddenly Tottenham seemed to get their act together and were rewarded when Ruel Fox exploited a rare lapse in the Dons' defence to shoot past Neil Sullivan.

It was then all action stuff with Sullivan tipping over a header from Chris Armstrong and Ginola hitting the bar, but at the other end Ekoku got on the end of another free kick to shoot home and sew the game up for the Dons.

Nominating a man of the match would be disingenuous. Michael Hughes had an outstanding game, but so too had the `Three Es' - Earle, Ekoku and Jason Euell.

They will have to be at their best to win points at Derby, who expect to have Stefano Erario and Igor Stimac plus their new £2.7m Italian signing Horatio Stimac in tomorrow's line-up. But in their current mood the Dons will fancy their chances against anyone.

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