June 16, 2012

Harry Redknapp: Sorry to leave Spurs but I'll be back

Spurs could have pushed on but we didn’t strengthen when we needed to... I will be back. I could retire but I love this game and that keeps me going. I enjoy it and I don’t do it for the money.

Harry Redknapp explains why he's sorry to be leaving the Lane, selects his top three moments as Spurs boss and looks ahead to his future...

After four fantastic seasons at Tottenham, I'm very sorry to be leaving. I'm proud of my achievements at White Hart Lane and I can't help thinking about what we might have gone on to win. With the addition of one or two players this summer, I believe we could have won the league. We'll never know and I wish my successor and all the lads well. They're a top bunch and they deserve to succeed.

We could have been in serious title contention this season if we'd made the right signings in January. Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen came in and both did well but the departure of Roman Pavlyuchenko, who I'm pleased to see playing well at the Euros, and Stephen Piennar meant we were weaker in the second-half of the season. We could have pushed on but we didn't strengthen when we needed to.

Three highlights of my time at Tottenham stand out. Beating Inter 3-1 at the Lane was fantastic and demonstrated that we were serious about competing in the Champions League. That gave us the confidence to go to the San Siro, where we'd narrowly lost to Inter, and beat AC Milan on their own patch in the knockout stages.

Those two European ties live long in the memory but the win that got us there was equally sweet. Near the end of my first full season in charge, we went up to Manchester City and sealed fourth place in the Premier League when Peter Crouch scored a second-half header. Top night.

As for the future, I haven't had long to weigh it all up. But what can tell you is that I will be back. I could retire now but I love this game and that keeps me going. I enjoy it and I don't do it for the money. You never know what's going to happen in football.

There are only four or five clubs who can win the Premier League - Alan Pardew worked wonders at Newcastle last year but I always think of the top four plus Liverpool - so to say I'd only manage a club that I believed could win the title would be inaccurate. You never know, my mate Dave Whelan might sell Wigan to a group of billionaires and the football hierarchy could be turned on its head again. But that's unlikely and I think the clubs at the top of the table will dominate for many seasons.

We'll see what happens. After a few defeats managers find themselves under pressure and, while I don't wish that on anyone, it will be interesting to see how next season begins. I'll take my time but I would like to be back soon.


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