Redknapp: Spurs not distracted

23 March 2012 14:46

Harry Redknapp claims Tottenham's players could not care less if he left for England this summer and once again denied that his team's recent slump has anything to do with him being tipped to succeed Fabio Capello.

Redknapp, the overwhelming favourite to be the next England boss, has seen his team collect four points from the five league matches since Capello resigned, but the 65-year-old vehemently denied the two are linked when quizzed on the subject.

"Absolute nonsense. That is the biggest load of nonsense I have ever heard in my life," he said. "They (the players) don't care whether I'm the manager next year. They wouldn't lose any sleep over that. That's football."

He continued: "Footballers play the game, they come in every day and train. Someone else walks in here tomorrow - the king is dead, long live the king!

"They don't worry. They don't think 'Harry is going to England' or 'he is going to go somewhere else'. I have been around football all my life and it doesn't happen."

Tottenham dropped out of the Barclays Premier League top three for the first time since November on Wednesday when they drew 1-1 against Stoke. Rafael van der Vaart's 93rd-minute equaliser ensured Tottenham were spared a humiliating fourth straight defeat but the club's recent slump has dented their Champions League ambitions.

Tottenham led Arsenal by 12 points in February but now trail the third-place Gunners by one point and Redknapp's team will be only two points ahead of Chelsea if they lose in Saturday's London derby at Stamford Bridge.

Redknapp's men went on an 11-match unbeaten run to climb near the summit of the table towards the end of 2011, but the only team they have managed to beat in their last six games is Stevenage. The Londoners seem to have lost the killer instinct that defined their performances at the end of last year, but Redknapp denies his team have lost their spark.

"It (the poor run) has not affected our confidence at all, not in any way, shape or form," Redknapp added. "The players don't sit in there and think 'We have to make the Champions League'.

"There are nine games to go, a lot of points to play for and there will be lots of twists and turns between now and the end of the season."

Source: PA