Redknapp Open to Tottenham Return as Spurs Face Managerial Uncertainty
Harry Redknapp has not managed a Premier League club since 2015.
Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has indicated that the Spurs leadership "know where I am" should they consider him as a replacement for current interim manager Igor Tudor. This raises the question of whether the 79-year-old could make a surprising return to the north London club.
Redknapp had a successful tenure at Tottenham from 2008 to 2012, during which he won 71 of 144 Premier League matches and secured top-four finishes in two of his three full seasons.
Since Tudor took over from Thomas Frank on 14 February, Tottenham have lost all four games, leaving them just one point above the Premier League relegation zone. Additionally, they face a challenging task to overturn a 5-2 first-leg deficit against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16.
Tudor's position has come under intense scrutiny following his decision to substitute goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after early errors led to goals by Marcos Llorente and Julian Alvarez in Tuesday's heavy defeat in Spain.
Speaking at the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Redknapp downplayed speculation about a return to Tottenham but told Sky Sports:
"They know where I am if they need me.
They need somebody to go in there and give them a lift and make them believe in themselves.
They're bang in trouble, I must be truthful. It's going to be tight at the bottom, isn't it?"
Earlier this week, Redknapp revealed in an interview with Talksport that he had spoken with former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, who expressed that he would have offered Redknapp the managerial role until the end of the season.
"I got a phone call last week from Daniel, funnily enough," Redknapp said. "I think I spoke to him once since I left all that time ago. I was in the car last week and suddenly my phone goes – it's Daniel Levy.
I was on the phone to him for about half an hour. He said to me: 'If I was there now, and I'm not just saying it, I would bring you back until the end of the season, Harry'. That would have been interesting."
Is Redknapp the Charismatic Leader Spurs Need?
If Redknapp were to return, he would become the oldest manager to take charge of a Premier League club. At 79 years and 12 days old, he would surpass the current record held by Roy Hodgson, who was two and a half years younger when he left Crystal Palace in February 2024.
Redknapp currently ranks 10th among the oldest Premier League managers, having last managed in the top flight with Queens Park Rangers in 2015, a month before his 68th birthday.
He would not be the only veteran manager to make a surprise return this season. Martin O'Neill, aged 74, is in his second interim spell at Celtic, while Neil Warnock, 77, was recently appointed caretaker manager at National League South club Torquay United.
Former Premier League goalkeeper Rob Green commented on Radio 5 Live that Redknapp's return to Spurs would be an even more unexpected move than O'Neill's appointment at Celtic.
"I think it is even further for Spurs, but that is the sort of expertise in man management [they need]," Green said. "It is a different kind of manager than the coaches we have now.
The players have to have a charismatic leader to go in and lift the place, and certainly make them feel better about themselves.
[Redknapp] is a manager that knows the club well. He certainly has a skill at getting the best out of people and people feeling good about themselves on the pitch.
But for now, I just don't see someone who has been out of the game in the country for as long as he has [coming back into management]."
Earlier this season, Tottenham players Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence faced criticism for refusing to shake former manager Thomas Frank's hand after a disappointing home defeat to Chelsea. Former Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel said Redknapp would not have tolerated such behaviour.
"Can you imagine a player not shaking his hand after a game?" Friedel told the BBC's Sportsworld. "That player wouldn't be in the squad for the next game.
When they fired Thomas Frank, I was one of the people that said to get someone like Harry - very similar to what Celtic did [with O'Neill] after [sacking] Wilfried Nancy.
Harry would have gone in and said the right things."
'You Can Cry or You Can Fight' - Tudor on Spurs Mentality
'Harry Has Tottenham in His Blood' - But Would Dyche, Poyet or Sherwood Be Better Options?
Former Premier League striker Glenn Murray believes that while Redknapp would bring short-term positivity, Tottenham might benefit more from other managerial options.
"I feel like Harry has got Tottenham in his blood and he wants the best for them," Murray told Radio 5 Live's Premier League Kick-Off. "He makes people feel good about themselves.
But if you are looking for someone who is going to hang around, and if they go down making it a long-term project, it would have to be Gus Poyet or Tim Sherwood."
Ex-Tottenham midfielder Michael Brown emphasized that Spurs' primary focus must be on maintaining their Premier League status.
"It's about the team getting results to stay in the Premier League," Brown said. "Any reaction has got to be better than this.
I would say Sean Dyche. Whether it's Tim Sherwood, who has been mentioned, Harry Redknapp, or whoever it will be, somebody is going to get a bounce out of the players, surely."
Tottenham are scheduled to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday before hosting La Liga side Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last-16 second leg on Wednesday.
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