Source: Telegraph
Harry Redknapp resolute as Ledley King adds to Tottenham injury woes
Heurelho Gomes (groin), Aaron Lennon (groin) and Vedran Corluka (thigh) played through muscle strains in the 1-1 draw with Portsmouth, but Roman Pavlyuchenko was also stretchered off with an ankle injury, while King has damaged his hamstring. [LNB]Redknapp is resigned to missing out on signing West Ham's Craig Bellamy but still wants further reinforcements. "I think Palacios is a tremendous player," he said. "The chairman has been talking to Wigan. Craig Bellamy is a terrific player, but I don't think they will get him. Once Man City come in for a player, the rest of us have got no chance. [LNB]"Pavlyuchenko has a kick on the ankle, not that serious. Ledley won't play for a long time. There were three players carrying injuries at half-time. The physios wanted to take them all off."[LNB]Despite the fact that he was limping during periods of the match, Redknapp was still happier with Gomes as his goalkeeper than Cesar Sanchez or Ben Alnwick. "It is an area I'm looking for still," he said. "If I had great confidence in the Spanish goalkeeper I would have played him. Gomes does limp a lot. He is Brazilian and sometimes Brazilian goalkeepers limp a lot. He has got an injury. I'm looking for someone who can also play in the first team."[LNB]Redknapp, though, said that he was certain Tottenham would avoid relegation after Sunday's draw lifted them from the bottom of a congested Premier League table. "I'm very, very confident - no problem, we will be OK."[LNB]He was particularly pleased that David Bentley reacted so positively to his absence from the starting line-up when he came on as a substitute. "I spoke to him last week, I told him what I expect from him," he said. "It was the David Bentley I knew at Blackburn and Arsenal as a kid - not the David Bentley that I have really seen here too much. I think the penny has dropped and we will see a different David Bentley from now on."[LNB]Portsmouth manager Tony Adams dismissed claims from Redknapp that David James was carrying a knee injury and praised the England goalkeeper's contribution. "He is more focused and concentrated than the old David James that I used to know going back 10 years," he said. [LNB]There were fears that the match would be over-shadowed by abusive chanting and, while Tottenham supporters did briefly begin humming the theme to one of the more offensive Sol Campbell songs, they largely vented their feelings through booing. "The concern was that it would be in bad taste," said James. "It was loud - the Tottenham fans let us know what they thought of us, likewise with our fans to them. It was in good nature."[LNB]Adams is also still hoping to bring in Jermaine Pennant and hopes to hold talks with the Liverpool midfielder shortly. [LNB]
