‘I’ll make us even stronger’
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is plotting a fresh raid on the summer transfer market after
leading his side into the Champions League
IT may be the end of long, hard road for his players, but for Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, qualification to the Champions League is just the beginning.
Just hours after sealing a top-four place with a 1-0 away win at Manchester City, Redknapp is looking to the future and admits he is already locked in talks with chairman Daniel Levy about launching a fresh raid on the summer transfer market.
“The chairman is here today and we have been talking about different parts for next season, but it is early days,” Redknapp said yesterday.
“We haven’t really got any targets yet. We have looked at a lot of players, but we will see how we go with that.”
Champions League football, and the chance to pit their wits against the likes of Barcelona and Inter Milan, could be worth an estimated £50m to Tottenham next season, but Redknapp insists the club will not be spending over the odds. “We are not going to be big spenders, I do not see that happening,” he added. “We have got a good squad here, good young players.”
Although he may relish the prospect of hosting the European greats at White Hart Lane, Redknapp refuses to get too carried away, acknowledging the likelihood his side may face a tough preliminary opponent in early August.
Spurs will need to finish above north London rivals Arsenal to avoid the qualifier, but with the Gunners hosting a Fulham side with one eye on Europa League final in Sunday’s final league game, the odds are staked against them.
The likes of Ajax, Celtic, Sevilla and CSKA Moscow remain in the Champions League qualifying draw and Redknapp knows there’s plenty of hard work to come. “We have still got to qualify,” he added. “I saw the teams today and there are a lot of great teams in it, so that will be difficult.”
DID YOU KNOW? | TOTTENHAM’S EURO RECORDS
• Spurs were the first British team to win a major European competition, the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963
• Tottenham won the Uefa Cup in its inaugural year, 1972, making them the first British team to win two Euro cups
• They still hold a British club’s record of eight successive victories in European matches
• Spurs have scored more goals per European game, on average, than their British rivals, with 2.1
• They have played more games in the Uefa Cup than any other British club