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Redknapp wants rivals to suffer European hurt

Harry Redknapp hopes his rivals suffer Champions League disappointment © Getty Images

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Harry Redknapp is hoping Chelsea and Manchester City are knocked out of the Champions League this week to improve his own side's chances of success in the Premier League.

Spurs are up to third in the table, seven points behind leaders City but with a game in hand.

Teams who make it through to the Champions League knockout rounds have to play only two games in a five week spell after Christmas, while teams that drop down to the Europa League must play four games in this time. Added to that, there is often a greater amount of travelling and Thursday football makes the Premier League weekend game more taxing.

Redknapp is well aware of the demands of the Europa League, with Spurs playing in the group stage this season, and he hopes the added fixtures which come in the latter stages will be a disadvantage for any Premier League sides still in the competition.

There is still the chance Spurs could make it into the second round, but they would need to win away to Shamrock Rovers by a big margin and hope Rubin Kazan lose to PAOK.

Redknapp was quoted as saying in The Sun: "I don't like to say it, but it wouldn't do us any harm to see Chelsea and City in the Europa League. It's harder than playing in the Champions League because of that Thursday night-Sunday afternoon schedule you get.

"You know most of the teams in the Champions League and you're not travelling to the far-flung corners of Europe. In the Europa League you're schlepping all over the place.

"This is my third year now, and the last two years we've been fourth and fifth. So we're there or thereabouts on a regular basis - and this team I've got here is going to be there or thereabouts all year. But you've got to keep winning because you can't afford a slip-up with the other teams playing so well."

Redknapp also had praise for Aaron Lennon, who finally seems to be adding consistency into his game, and believes that along with Gareth Bale he has wingers who are interchangeable. Lennon was on target on Saturday as Spurs won 3-0 at home to Bolton Wanderers.

He said: "Aaron's been in good form lately. I think he's better on the left than on the right, in all honesty. When he comes on the left, like he did at Fulham and against Bolton, he can score. He likes to duck inside on his right foot, or he can take it past you.

"I think he gets more opportunities to score goals when he plays on the left. On the other side he tends to go one way. When he gets on the left side, he squares people up and he can come inside around the box and he's got that shot on all the time. I think he's happier on the left. But Gareth's happy on the right, too. He plays there for Wales.

"The turning-point at West Brom last week, I felt, was when I changed the two wingers over about eight minutes into the second half and we started opening them up. So it's something that's interesting with those two. Aaron's got a lot of talent, he seems in good form at the moment. It's difficult for him when Bale is so amazing on the other side.

"But Aaron can learn to get in the game more. And that's the key. He has got to try not to be marked out of the game. When he plays wide, people know he's quick and they mark him tight. He's got to learn to get that ability to find a bit of space. When he does that he's a danger.

"We've got two full-backs who like to get in forward positions and then it's a problem for the right-back. When Bale comes in, does the full-back come in with him? Does he leave Bale? If he leaves him, we play to Bale. If he comes in, then Benoit Assou-Ekotto is bombing into that space that he's left.

"If they've got a wide-right player he ends up almost playing right-back, which they don't want to do - so if you can, that bit of rotation between them is good."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.