Harry Redknapp

No champions League does not mean big names will leave, insists White Hart Lane boss

HARRY Redknapp insists that Gareth Bale and Luka Modric will stay at Spurs if the club miss out on the top four – because Tottenham were not in the Champions League when they arrived.

The Lilywhites’ hopes of overtaking Manchester City were all but ended over the weekend as their 2-1 defeat at Chelsea was followed by City’s victory over West Ham at Eastlands.

That leaves Spurs seven points behind Roberto Mancini’s side, but Redknapp insists that Tottenham will not lose their star players this summer if, as expected, they now miss out on Champions League qualification.

“I hate it when I hear people say ‘if they don’t make the Champions League they’re going to sell Bale or they’re going to sell Modric’,” said the Spurs boss.

“They came here without Champions League football. Tottenham weren’t in the Champions League when they arrived so I don’t see that being a problem.

“They know that we’re a good side but what you’ve got to do now is add one or two players and show them ‘look we do mean business. We’ve gone and bought some real quality players in the summer, and we’re looking to keep pushing on’.

“I haven’t spoken to the chairman about it but I’m sure he’s got to be positive, otherwise where do you go? Everybody else is improving.

“Chelsea looked like they might have dropped out of the top four around the transfer window time, so they went and spent £75million on two players because they wanted to make sure they stayed in there. I’m not saying that we need to go and spend £75m but we need to keep being positive now and keep moving forward.”

Tottenham’s defeat at Stamford Bridge means that the Lilywhites have still not won at Chelsea since 1990. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Newcastle saw Spurs drop down into sixth place, as they were overtaken by Kenny Dalglish’s Reds.

It proved to be a demoralising weekend for Redknapp, but he remains positive about his side’s status among the biggest sides in the top flight.

“I think there’s nothing in it in all honesty,” he said. “Alright, we haven’t beaten Chelsea this time, but over the last couple of years we’ve beaten them at home, we drew at home with them earlier in the season and it was a close game again this time.

“We can play against anybody now. I think there’s nothing in between the top five or six teams and we’re up there – but we’ve got to keep pushing on now.”