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Redknapp not seeking revenge against Tottenham

Harry Redknapp has no hard feelings towards Daniel Levy © PA Photos

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Harry Redknapp has said he is not looking for revenge as he prepares to face Tottenham for the first time since being sacked as manager at White Hart Lane.

As his QPR side ready themselves to take on Spurs at Loftus Road, Redknapp also stressed that comments he made about the Chelsea job - seen by some as denigrating current Tottenham and ex-Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas - had been misconstrued.

Redknapp, who spent almost four years at White Hart Lane, insisted: "Revenge? Absolutely not. Spurs is just another game to me. QPR is my team, and we need three points if possible. We've got a very difficult game against a top team.

"QPR is my only concern. If we were playing Tottenham or anybody else tomorrow, it's another three points. I just want to win a football match tomorrow.

"If I see anybody from the other side, great - I'll say hello. I'll shake hands with anyone I see. I'm not going to be running around making a big fuss about it. I had four great years, enjoyed my time there. That's in the past."

Redknapp said his former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy had been the first to congratulate him on getting the Loftus Road job in November. "I spoke to Daniel yesterday. I haven't got a problem. They make a decision. It's their club, they can do what they want with the club."

Asked why he thought he had lost his job at White Hart Lane, Redknapp said: "You'd have to ask Daniel Levy that question. I can't answer that, can I? I didn't sense the end was coming. Definitely not. It was very sudden, but that's football. That's life. What can you do?"

Last week, the QPR boss said "you'd have to be a real dope to mess it up with that group of players [at Chelsea]" but also described interim coach Rafael Benitez as a "clever guy". That line was put to ex-Stamford Bridge manager Villas-Boas, who said that someone would have to experience the Stamford Bridge job to know what it was about.

"I never mentioned anyone else, so why anybody has to relate it to the manager at Tottenham I don't know," Redknapp said. "I never mentioned the manager of Tottenham. What's the problem? He hasn't got my job. When he took over, I was out of work. Good luck to him. I don't spend my life worrying about what he's doing and what Tottenham's doing.

"I haven't got any relationship with Villas-Boas, but I haven't got any relationship with any other manager in the Premier League either. He's gone to Tottenham, he's done a great job. I'll shake his hand, invite him in for a drink afterwards whatever the result. I haven't got a problem - what's the problem? He seems a nice guy."

Redknapp said he believed Spurs could win the Premier League title in the near future, adding: "I think the club is getting stronger and stronger, with a fantastic new training ground. They've got the players there."

Finally, asked whether he had a message for Spurs fans, Redknapp said: "Thanks for the great times I had there. I never had a bad moment there. People normally leave clubs because they want to get rid of you, the fans are booing you and giving you grief. I left there with a fantastic relationship with the fans. I never had any problems."

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