Daniel Levy & Joe Lewis accused of 'interfering' with Tottenham team selections as ex-Spurs manager makes sensational claim

Redknapp recalled a specific incident before a clash with Manchester United in 2010. In an interview with The Times, he recalled: "I’ve never told anybody this, at least I don’t think so. But you want to know what really happened to me at Tottenham? We played Man United at Old Trafford, October 2010, we were flying in the table.

"I’m on my way to Stansted Airport to fly up to Manchester and I get a phone call from Daniel. Now, Daniel never rung me on a Friday, never interfered with the team. Daniel said, ‘Hello, Harry. It’s Daniel.’ ‘Hello, Daniel,’ I said... ‘Who are you gonna play up front tomorrow?’ I said, ‘Robbie Keane.’ He said, ‘Robbie Keane?’ I said, ‘Yeah, Robbie Keane.’ Then he said, ‘Why don’t you speak with Rafael van der Vaart about who he wants to play with?

"I said, ‘What’s it got to do Rafael van der Vaart, Daniel? I pick the team, not Rafael van der Vaart.’ He said, ‘Well, I thought it’d be interesting to see what Rafa thought, you know.’ ‘No, not really,’ I said, ‘Robbie Keane’s playing.’"

The interference reportedly didn't stop with Levy, as Redknapp claims he then received a direct call from Joe Lewis, who at the time owned Tottenham. He continued: "[Joe] says, ‘I like that forward line of yours, [Aaron] Lennon, Van der Vaart, and [Roman] Pavlyuchenko. That Robbie Keane is useless.’"

The veteran manager stood his ground against the billionaire owner's demands. "I said, ‘That’s your opinion, Joe,’ He then said, ‘Why don’t you ask Rafael van der Vaart who he wants to play with? I said, ‘What’s it got to do with Rafael van der Vaart? I pick the team, not Van der Vaart.’ I will tell you what Joe then said to me. ‘If Robbie Keane plays tomorrow, I won’t even watch it on television.’ That choice is up to you, Joe,’ I said. ‘Yeah, it f*cking is.‘"

Redknapp believes these confrontations over Keane's selection eventually led to his sacking. "Robbie Keane worked his socks off at Tottenham, and I never had a problem with Rafa, who was great for Tottenham, but I think that conversation was the end for me. We finished fourth in the Premier League next season, but lost our place in the following season’s Champions League because Chelsea, who had finished sixth, went to Munich for the Champions League final and beat Bayern," he added.

The timing of these revelations comes as the current Tottenham side faces a historic crisis, with Redknapp warning that his former club are now 'favourites to go down' after a dismal run of form under sacked head coach Thomas Frank and his replacement Igor Tudor. The north Londoners sit just a single point above the relegation zone following a toothless 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.

Reflecting on the current plight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Redknapp expressed his shock at how far the club has fallen, stating: "It was another disaster, I mean four or five weeks ago I couldn't really see Tottenham being involved in a relegation scrap, you know every week that's gone by it's got worse. But Tottenham are bang in it now, in trouble, they're looking like they could even be favourites to go down, it is that desperate."