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Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp lashes out at fixture congestion after Villarreal friendly defeat
Gaffer already worried about early season difficulties...
30 Jul 2010 13:50:00
By Matt Monaghan
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp hit at early season fixture congestion after Villarreal handed his players a 4-1 friendly thrashing ahead of their Champions League bow.
The Spurs boss is gearing his side up for their forthcoming qualifier for Europe's elite club competition, but also has one eye on an important clash with rivals Manchester City on the opening weekend of the Premier League season in two weeks' time.
But with England set to face Hungary in a friendly just three days before that opening clash against Roberto Mancini's side, Redknapp faces the prospect of being without the majority of stars for the final week of pre-season — something he is far from happy about.
"It's crazy," Redknapp told a press conference after the defeat.
"We pile more games in. The last thing we need really is to be playing games. We need to train. I need to get the players on the training pitch because all we do is play and recover.
"I didn't want this game tonight. Too many games have been scheduled and it's a problem. Can someone tell me why we have an international week on the week of the season starting?
"They have just been away as a group together to the World Cup. They have come home, they're probably sick of the sight of each other.
"Now they are going to have an international week before we play the first game of the season and then we play a Champions League qualifier.
"I won't see those players from the Saturday night until the Friday before we play Manchester City. I won't see them once, not once.
"How can that be a way to prepare for the start of the season?"
Spurs defeat to Villarreal only darkened Redknapp's mood. The north London side fell foul of a Giuseppe Rossi hat-trick as the visitors ran rampant at White Hart Lane on Thursday.
With the team about to embark on their first qualifying campaign for Europe's elite club competition, harsh lessons were handed out by the team that finished in seventh place in La Liga last term.
"They were good, weren't they?" Redknapp noted.
"I thought they were excellent, a really good side that played good football. They were sharp, bright and lively and I was very impressed with them.
"It just shows how hard it will be when we get into Europe. They finished seventh in the Spanish League last season. I've seen a bit of them recently but they were outstanding.
"They passed and moved and that's how they play the game, the kids play like it, they all play like it and that's perhaps how we should all be playing the game. They were very, very good, very impressive."
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The Spurs boss is gearing his side up for their forthcoming qualifier for Europe's elite club competition, but also has one eye on an important clash with rivals Manchester City on the opening weekend of the Premier League season in two weeks' time.
But with England set to face Hungary in a friendly just three days before that opening clash against Roberto Mancini's side, Redknapp faces the prospect of being without the majority of stars for the final week of pre-season — something he is far from happy about.
"It's crazy," Redknapp told a press conference after the defeat.
"We pile more games in. The last thing we need really is to be playing games. We need to train. I need to get the players on the training pitch because all we do is play and recover.
"I didn't want this game tonight. Too many games have been scheduled and it's a problem. Can someone tell me why we have an international week on the week of the season starting?
"They have just been away as a group together to the World Cup. They have come home, they're probably sick of the sight of each other.
"Now they are going to have an international week before we play the first game of the season and then we play a Champions League qualifier.
"I won't see those players from the Saturday night until the Friday before we play Manchester City. I won't see them once, not once.
"How can that be a way to prepare for the start of the season?"
Spurs defeat to Villarreal only darkened Redknapp's mood. The north London side fell foul of a Giuseppe Rossi hat-trick as the visitors ran rampant at White Hart Lane on Thursday.
With the team about to embark on their first qualifying campaign for Europe's elite club competition, harsh lessons were handed out by the team that finished in seventh place in La Liga last term.
"They were good, weren't they?" Redknapp noted.
"I thought they were excellent, a really good side that played good football. They were sharp, bright and lively and I was very impressed with them.
"It just shows how hard it will be when we get into Europe. They finished seventh in the Spanish League last season. I've seen a bit of them recently but they were outstanding.
"They passed and moved and that's how they play the game, the kids play like it, they all play like it and that's perhaps how we should all be playing the game. They were very, very good, very impressive."
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