Harry Redknapp: Cup glory would match finishing in top four

 
Cup kings: Harry Redknapp after Portsmouth’s triumph in 2008, while Gary Mabbutt, David Howells and Gary Lineker celebrate Spurs’ win in 1991
7 March 2012

Tottenham's principal goal this season is to regain their place in the Champions League but Harry Redknapp believes it would be just as important for the club to win the FA Cup for the first time since 1991.

Spurs hope tonight’s fifth-round replay against Stevenage will enable them to end their recent wobble. Redknapp’s men have not won in three matches — including the 0-0 draw in the original game against the League One club — and conceded eight goals in consecutive Premier League defeats, to Arsenal and Manchester United.

The Tottenham manager said he would choose a strong side tonight in the hope of securing a sixth-round home tie against Bolton.

Since they claimed the FA Cup 21 years ago, Spurs have won only the League Cup in 1999 and 2008. As important as it is to finish in the top four of the Premier League, Redknapp believes it is just as crucial to take home a major trophy.

“It’s about time we won the FA Cup and this year we have a team that have a genuine chance,” said the Spurs

boss, who knows what it takes to win the competition, having guided Portsmouth to Wembley glory in 2008.

“Finishing in the Champions League places would be fantastic but winning the Cup at Wembley would be just as special.

“We’d be one of the teams you’d look at who have a real chance this year. There are strong sides left in there but we’d be one of those with as good a chance as anybody.

“We’re playing at home and then we would have a home tie in the next round. We want to take the chance that we have been given and get to the final.”

Spurs will anticipate a comfortable victory over Stevenage at White Hart Lane tonight as they look ahead to a run of matches that could define their season.

Saturday’s trip to Everton is followed by a possible quarter-final on March 18, which would precede two Premier League fixtures in four days, at home against Stoke and at Chelsea. For most of the campaign, Tottenham have seemed secure in third place but no longer is this true. Arsenal have cut the gap from 10 points to four within a week and are playing with confidence again.

Perhaps mindful of his team’s increased vulnerability, Redknapp is not so keen on the winners of the main national cup competition being handed a place in the Champions League. Under the current rules, the FA Cup winners are given entry into the Europa League, which generates little enthusiasm among the top clubs in Europe.

As he considered the idea that the FA Cup holders would replace the Premier League’s fourth-placed team in the Champions League, Redknapp said: “To win the FA Cup would be fantastic but you don’t get a lot for it the following year.

“If you had only three Champions League places in the League, it would be so difficult. With their resources, Manchester City are going to be there every year and Manchester United are always going to be there, so you would be playing for just one place in the competition.

“You would have Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham all fighting for one spot.

“It’s hard enough at the moment to make the top four, let alone the top three.”

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