Source: Daily_Mail
Tottenham boss Redknapp dampens high spirits of his back-up Bentley
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has delivered an astonishing sideswipe to rejuvenated winger David Bentley, revealing the England international was nothing more than back-up at the club.[LNB]Bentley's exile from the Spurs first team ended a fortnight ago when he was handed a starting berth against Fulham, only his second start in a year.[LNB]The 25-year-old impressed sufficiently to maintain his place in the side, keeping fit again Niko Kranjcar out. Bentley, though, will face a much sterner test of time when Aaron Lennon eventually returns from his long spell on the sidelines with a groin injury. [LNB] Back in the fold: David Bentley has started five consecutive matches for Spurs[LNB]What hope Bentley may have had of an extended run in the side certainly appears distinguished by his manager who remains unconvinced the player's improvement in form can correlate to his off-field attitude. [LNB]Redknapp said: 'He's been a problem and if Aaron doesn't get injured he probably doesn't play. I played Niko at first, because I didn't really feel at that time David deserved to play in all honesty.[LNB]'I had Niko and Luka as well, and I played Luka on the right. I just felt they were both happier on the left, so I brought David back in.[LNB]'I suppose other managers probably wouldn't have had the patience that I've shown with him. Everyone's different and I don't bear grudges.'[LNB]Pecking order: Bentley was long assumed the successor to David Beckham... but not anymore[LNB]Bentley joined Spurs from Blackburn in 2008 for £15million but has largely failed to recapture the form that saw him daubed the natural successor to David Beckham on England's right flank. [LNB]The former Arsenal men has arguably fallen to sixth in the race to be Fabio Capello's 'right-hand side' man, behind Theo Walcott, club-mate Lennon, Beckham, James Milner and Shaun Wright-Phillips.[LNB]However with Walcott, Lennon and Wright-Phillips desperately short of form and fitness, Redknapp hopes Bentley can use the light at the end of the tunnel to maintain his improvement.[LNB]'Was I hard on David?' Redknapp added. 'Probably not that hard. If I'd been really hard on him then I probably would have isolated him.[LNB]'He knows he wasn't doing what he should have been doing. I spoke to him about the situation and he accepted that he wasn't right, his attitude wasn't right, but he was finding it hard to pull himself out of it at that time.[LNB]'I think it's like anything, when he wasn't playing his head probably went down. He saw no light at the end of the tunnel.[LNB]'When you come in every day and you're not playing it's difficult. He's not been used to that. He's been at Blackburn, where he was a big player, and he's found it difficult. He couldn't accept it really.[LNB]'It's easy for us all to say 'well, he gets paid to do this'. Fine, but I do understand how he was feeling. Now he's back playing and he's enjoying being in the team, but it's only four or five games. You hope he can keep his attitude right and that he keeps playing as he is.'[LNB] Redknapp and former Pompey chief Mandaric in court over tax evasionWolves 1 Spurs 0: Jones' winner fires McCarthy's men out of bottom threeOutsiders England XI: Who joins Manchester City's Adam Johnson in race for a place in England World Cup squad? Sandro's £6.5m Tottenham switch is dead, reveals disgruntled Brazil starLet me go, Harry: Misfit Pavlyuchenko opens his heart in bid to seal Spurs exitTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC
