LONDON : Harry Redknapp is poised to be the next manager
of English Premier League strugglers Tottenham Hotspur following
the departure of Juande Ramos, he said Sunday.
Ramos left the club after its worst-ever start to the season which
has left it anchored to the bottom of the league, Spurs announced
late Saturday.
Moments later, Redknapp -- currently in charge at Portsmouth --
said he expected to be confirmed as Ramos's successor within
hours.
Redknapp faces an uphill struggle to turn Tottenham's fortunes
around -- despite winning the League Cup in February, Spurs have
taken just two points from eight games.
Their UEFA Cup group campaign also got off to a poor start Thursday
when they were beaten 2-0 at Udinese amid reports that dressing
room confidence has hit rock-bottom.
The northeast London club said in a statement late Saturday that
Spaniard Ramos, formerly in charge at Sevilla, and other key staff
were leaving.
"The club can announce that Damien Comolli, sporting director,
Juande Ramos, head coach and first-team coaches, Marcos Alvarez and
Gus Poyet, have left the club, with immediate effect. We wish them
well," the club said.
It then revealed that Portsmouth, currently placed seventh in the
Premier League, had "reluctantly" agreed to let them talk to
Redknapp, whose son Jamie is a former Spurs captain.
Within minutes, Redknapp revealed that he expected a deal
confirming his position to be announced very soon.
"It's going to be done tonight, it will all be sorted out and by
tomorrow morning I should be in place," Redknapp said.
He added on Sky Sports News television: "It's a great opportunity
for me. It's a big club, Tottenham.
"I love Portsmouth and I loved my time there, we had some fantastic
success and I'd never been happier.
"But it's a great deal for Portsmouth, five million pounds (6.3
million euros, 7.9 million dollars) for me, and it's a chance for
me to get on and see what I can do."
Tottenham said that Clive Allen, a former club player who is now
development squad coach, and youth team manager Alex Inglethorpe
would be in charge for Sunday's clash with Bolton.
It added in the statement that a further announcement would be made
on the first-team coaching staff "in due course".
Redknapp expects to be at White Hart Lane for the Bolton match and
plans to address players before the match.
Ramos had only been in the job for a year. The team's recent
performances have been criticised by players Jonathan Woodgate and
David Bentley.
"We aren't too good to go down -- believe me," defender Woodgate,
who used to play for Leeds United, said.
"Leeds had a better team than we have got right now but they went
down eventually and we really have got to roll up our sleeves
because I am telling you, it is going to be hard.
"At the moment, a goal goes in and we start thinking 'here we go
again'. We need to really stand up now. The senior players have got
to stand up and start taking responsibility. At the moment, we
deserve to be where we are."
Spurs sold several top players over the summer including Dimitar
Berbatov to Manchester United and Robbie Keane to
Liverpool.
