Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has denied reports that he has been offered a new contract at White Hart Lane in order to ward off interest from the Football Association.
The veteran tactician is the overwhelming favourite to succeed Fabio Capello after the Italian sensationally quit his position as England manager on the same day Redknapp was acquitted of all tax evasion charges.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is keen on keeping hold of the former Portsmouth and Southampton manager, but reports that a new deal has been offered to secure his long-term future are wide of the mark, according to Redknapp.
“No-one’s told me about it. No, it’s not the case,” he said regarding the rumours surrounding a possible new deal.
“I speak to Daniel (Levy) every day and he wants me to stay at the club.
“But at the moment he hasn’t made me an offer of a contract and I haven’t pushed him to either.”
Speculation has also been mounting that the Spurs boss will be offered a substantial transfer war chest in order to build on his success at White Hart Lane, something he has further denied.
“We’ve never discussed spending money in the summer, or amounts of money,” he added when questioned regarding possible transfer funds.
“It’s never come up in conversation at all.”
With Levy thought to be keen on tying Redknapp down to a new long-term contract, the Spurs chairman must do everything in his power to convince the current incumbent to remain at White Hart Lane. The North London giants have been in sensational form this season, barring the recent defeats against Arsenal and Manchester United, and credit for that must go down to Redknapp.
He has the club playing attractive football and it has succeeding in propelling them up to third in the table and they remain a sure-fire bet of making the UEFA Champions League for the only the second time in their history. A promise of mammoth transfer war chest must appeal to Redknapp, even if the aforementioned rumours are untrue.
However, with the club on the brink of something spectacular, Levy must work his magic in every way in order to keep Redknapp in N17. The player’s enjoy performing under him, the fans are happy to keep him and the football on show has seen a majority of pundits stand up and applaud. Yet, Redknapp has previously insisted that the national team role is the ‘Ultimate’ job and something that, in his own words, would be a fool to turn down. Either way, the Spurs manager looks set to be in the middle of a colossal tug-of-war contest between Levy and FA chairman David Bernstein over the remaining months of the season.
