Former Spurs manager is open to returning to help Ryan Mason in the dugout

Harry Redknapp has admitted that he would be open to returning to Tottenham Hotspur to help Ryan Mason steer the ship until the end of the season.

Tottenham are thought to be on the verge of sacking Antonio Conte (Telegraph) and it has emerged over recent days that the North London club could put Mason in charge on a temporary basis.

This is because the managers who are out of work, such as Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel, would prefer to wait until the summer before they choose their next projects (The Guardian).

The Evening Standard reported on Tuesday that the most likely scenario at Tottenham, as things stand, is for Mason to take over the reins until the end of the season, thus giving the Lilywhites hierarchy time to talk to other managerial candidates.

Redknapp believes that Mason is going to need all the help he can get and admitted that he is ready to help the 31-year-old if he is asked to do so.

The former Spurs manager told talkSPORT regarding the recent returns of Roy Hodgson and Neil Warnock: “If someone asks you, I think it would be hard to say no, I’ll be truthful. When you love it, you do find it hard to say no, as Roy and Neil would agree.”

When asked if Daniel Levy has called him yet, Redknapp laughed and responded: “No definitely not, that has not happened.

“But you look at what you’re doing now, sitting around, having a game of golf, and it’s not the money, it’s the challenge, you love it, the buzz of it, winning a game is a fantastic feeling. It’s hard to say no.”

Asked if he’d consider a call to aid Mason, the experienced coach said: “Yeah of course, I would love that.

“With a young manager, I often think that they don’t use older figures, but I think there is room for older people to go in with them and work with a young manager, even if it was only for a couple of days a week just to be around. They can bounce ideas off you – I think that’s important.

“It’s a difficult job and when you’re young it’s important to have someone experienced there with you.

“I took people like Jim Smith who was older than me, at Portsmouth I’d already managed about 1000 games before I took Jim with me, but he was fantastic for me.

“I had Frank Lampard Sr with me, I took Glenn Hoddle, Steve McClaren – I think you need good people around you, it’s important.

“It’s a lonely job and you need all the help you can get.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I will always love Harry as the Spurs team he built played some of the best football I have seen us play and his four years at the club were thoroughly enjoyable.

However, the game has moved on tactically since his heyday, which is Daniel Levy will certainly not be rushing to call the 76-year-old.

Related Topics