English Football News: Harry Redknapp says managing England would be hard to turn down
One of the most respected managers in English football, Harry Redknapp, has said that if the English FA ask him to take on the England job it would be difficult for him to turn it down.
The current English manager Fabio Capello has confirmed that he would end his tenure with the English team after Euro 2012. Redknapp is believed to be the favourite to take Capello’s job while Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce is the next in line.
Of the job, Redknapp stated, "If you're an Englishman it would be hard to turn it down. It's the pinnacle of your career." He added, "If you've got good players, managing England wouldn't be that difficult."
The 63 year old said that the current lot of the English players have bags full of talent, and clearly there has to be someone who can make good use of them. However he said that for now that is not something on his mind and he is entirely focused on his job at Tottenham.
Roberto Di Matteo, the West Brom manager, seems to support Redknapp for the England job, and see him as "the obvious successor" to Capello. He said that Harry is an amazing guy, a fantastic manager and someone who understands the English game far better than most. The West Brom manager added that Redknapp has done a fantastic job at Spurs and he is someone who can really make optimum use of the English team’s resources.
Redknapp said that even if he is not the one to take the job after Capello, it has to be someone English. The Spurs manager added that in the past if one looks at the best teams in the world, it’s always the coach from the homeland that has been able to achieve great things with an international team. Redknapp said that he does not want to undermine the commitment of Capello one bit, but the fact is that if the manager of a national team is from the same country then it is more than a job for him, and it’s a matter of national interest. He said Capello is a very renowned manager and he has no doubts that he can take the England team places, but at the end of the day it is just another job for him and if it does not go well he would just move on.
He reiterated that he wants to see an Englishman manage England in the next World Cup, and said that even if England do not manage to win the change in the team and commitment would be there for everyone to see.
Harry Redknapp took charge of Tottenham in 2008, when they were on the brink of being relegated. But Redknapp who is also known as ‘Harry Houdini’ managed to pull yet another rabbit out of the hat and saved Spurs from relegation. The following season had much better things in store and Redknapp managed to guide his team to the all important 4th spot. Now for the first time, Tottenham will be competing in the prestigious UEFA Champions League. The London club has been drawn in the same group as defending European champions Inter Milan. Harry looks optimistic about the new season for Spurs and said that he would make sure that finishing in the top 4 does not become a rarity for his team in the future.
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