Harry Redknapp has told his Tottenham players they may never get a better chance to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League and break into the Champions League (7/10 Tottenham – Top 4 Finish).
The White Hart Lane boss fears rivals Manchester City will dip into the vast fortunes of the Abu Dhabi United Group this summer and return stronger next season if they fail to reach Europe’s elite club competition.
Redknapp said: “They’re going to go out again in the summer and bring in another three or four world-class players, aren’t they, and will keep improving. This is probably the best year that you’ll ever get to have a good chance.”
Tottenham have stolen a march on their rivals to shake up the top order of English football off the back of an impressive run of form (4/6 Tottenham – Premier League W/O Big 4).
Last Wednesday they claimed a first Premier League win over Arsenal in 11 years in a breathless north London derby and on Saturday shook up the race for the title by beating 10-man Chelsea in an equally-enthralling encounter.
They now lead Roberto Mancini’s men by two points in the race for the coveted fourth spot.
A true test of their ability to stay the distance begins next Saturday when they travel to take on title-chasers Manchester United looking for a first win at Old Trafford in the Premier League since 1989.
Tottenham will then face Bolton at home before facing City in the penultimate game of the season. They will wrap up their campaign against relegation-threatened Burnley.
Aston Villa and Liverpool appear to be running out of fixtures to challenge Tottenham and City and Redknapp, while not getting carried away, feels the time is right for his players to take the initiative.
Redknapp said: “It would be great for us, a nice thing to achieve. You get into the knockout phase [of the Champions League] and anything could happen. You could last two minutes as well, of course. But just to get fourth position would be a fantastic achievement.”
In-form winger Gareth Bale has been winning admirers with a string of stand-out performances, including goals against Chelsea and Arsenal, and Redknapp said he never doubted his ability to come through.
Redknapp added: “I never considered selling him: it would have scared me to death to have done that. I knew what we had. It was just a case of him growing up a little bit, getting a bit stronger, and he’s done that.”
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