Harry Redknapp has confessed the important thing to his creation of an enthralling Tottenham facet between 2008 and 2012 was merely giving his huge names the boldness to play.
The enduring former boss moved to White Hart Lane in October 2008, changing Juande Ramos after Spurs started the season with simply two factors from their opening eight video games, and he would encourage the crew to an eighth-placed end that 12 months.
Over the seasons that adopted, Spurs grew to become main gamers within the Premier League and Redknapp even secured the primary style of Champions League soccer within the membership’s historical past in 2010, memorably seeing off Manchester Metropolis on the ultimate day of the season to safe fourth place.
Showing on BT Sport‘s The Joe Cole Solid reverse Cole himself, a modest Redknapp insisted the primary tactic he employed to enhance outcomes was to persuade his gamers they have been adequate to hold on the highest degree.
“Give them a little bit of perception,” he mentioned when requested for the primary change he made at White Hart Lane. “Gareth Bale hadn’t been on a profitable crew in 28 video games or one thing. By no means on a profitable crew, whether or not he was sub or beginning.
“Luka Modric was a left winger. I mentioned I used to be going to play him central, they mentioned: ‘He cannot play there, he isn’t robust sufficient’. I mentioned: ‘He can play anyplace, he is incredible’, and I caught him within the center and pushed Bale from left-back to left wing.
“We had good gamers. That was the important thing, getting one of the best out of them.”
Redknapp additionally provided an perception into the comedic trend through which he finally grew to become Tottenham supervisor in 2008, admitting he initially selected to stay at Portsmouth earlier than lastly making the transfer to London.
“I bought provided the Tottenham job,” he recalled. “I went and met Daniel Levy two nights operating, he was begging me to take the job. I did not take it. I mentioned: ‘You’ve got bought Martin Jol who has finished alright. I do not suppose it is a good appointment, he is finished nothing mistaken. It will not be a well-liked appointment, let’s go away it’. And I left it.
“18 months later, he got here again in. We have been taking part in in Europe at Braga within the UEFA Cup, and I am sitting on the coach subsequent to Milan Mandaric [former Portsmouth owner]. My telephone goes off and it is Daniel Levy.
“He goes: ‘Are you alright to speak?’. ‘No, probably not, I am simply in Braga on the coach with my chairman on the way in which to the airport!’.
“I went spherical his home that night time and ended up going again to Tottenham.”
The Joe Cole Solid is a part of a brand new collection of free podcasts and audio documentaries from BT Sport Pods. Episode 5 that includes Harry Redknapp is accessible from Saturday twenty fourth September. For more information, please go to: btsport.com/pods
