Source: Team_Talk
Cup exit has helped us - Redknapp
Harry Redknapp reckons Tottenham's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Portsmouth was a blessing in disguise after they rallied to make the top four.[LNB] Spurs reacted to their shock loss at Wembley on April 11 by embarking on an amazing run in the Premier League, beating Arsenal, Chelsea, Bolton and Manchester City to clinch a place in next season's Champions League.[LNB]Redknapp admitted his side's season could easily have fallen apart after their cup setback, so he is naturally delighted by the way his players responded.[LNB]"After the Wembley game, everybody probably thought, 'That's the end of Tottenham's season'," he said.[LNB]"And, to be fair, when you looked at our run-in, it was scary - cup semi-final followed by Arsenal on the Wednesday and Chelsea the following Saturday.[LNB]"Maybe we would not have finished fourth if we had won the semi-final. You know what it's like when you reach a cup final - people look forward to it.[LNB]"But I think the players decided they had done so well all year that it would be shame to finish with nothing, so they came back strong.[LNB]"We had a chat after the Wembley game, but it was just one of those games where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. But the players have just kept on going."[LNB]A raft of players have really stepped up to the plate in Tottenham's league run-in but maybe none more so than Gareth Bale, who signed a new four-year contract with the club on Friday morning.[LNB]Once seen as a bad-luck charm - Spurs did not win once in Bale's first 24 Premier League outings for the club - the Wales international is now undroppable and is considered by Redknapp as, on current form at least, the best left-sided player in the division.[LNB]Redknapp admitted he even thought about not selecting Bale because of the record the team had when he played.[LNB]"I'm very superstitious and there were times when I thought, 'That's not right, it's impossible for it to happen for him'. But he hasn't looked back since," Redknapp said.[LNB]"He went through that terrible spell of not being in a winning team but we got rid of that and his confidence has risen."[LNB]Bale has been impressive on Spurs' left wing over the past month but Redknapp sees the 20-year-old establishing himself as a full-back.[LNB]"I think he'll become a great left-back eventually. That's how I see it," Redknapp said.[LNB]"He's developing here now. This is a good club and there aren't too many he could go to - Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are the only teams above us - but he's very happy here and we don't want to sell him.[LNB]"He agreed a deal before we got fourth place."
