Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes the North London giants will once again find it difficult to finish in the top four next season.
It was arguably under Redknapp that Spurs began their recent upward trajectory (although some would argue it was under Martin Jol), when the 73-year-old helped the club qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their recent history.
Redknapp managed to secure two top-four finishes in his four seasons at the club (three full seasons).
After a couple of below-par seasons under Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood, Mauricio Pochettino continued from where Redknapp left off when he helped Tottenham become Champions League regulars and challenge for the Premier League title.
However, with their defeat against Sheffield United on Thursday, it looks like Spurs will now set to miss out on the Champions League next year for the first time in five seasons.
Redknapp believes that Spurs have gone considerably backwards compared to where they were a couple of years ago.
He told talkSPORT: “Tottenham have gone backwards a million miles
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“You look at where they are now to where they were a couple of years ago, when Kyle Walker and Danny Rose were in form at full-back and Christian Eriksen was in great form, Mousa Dembele with him in midfield and Dele Alli was absolutely fantastic. They’re nowhere near that now.
“They finished above Liverpool two or three years ago when they finished second to Leicester, and suddenly Liverpool bought a couple of top players in, a great goalkeeper and a great centre-half and they’ve pushed on to become champions and Tottenham have gone exactly the opposite way.
“They got to the Champions League final last year, which was obviously a great achievement, but their league form was average for a long period. They averaged about a point a game for 25 games, which is relegation form. It hasn’t really improved.
“They got rid of Poch, they brought in Jose and thought ‘He’s the man to get us into the top four’, and they need the Champions League, they’ve got an incredible stadium, the best training ground, everything’s in place. But it hasn’t happened and it’s not going to happen.”
The former Spurs boss also predicted another tough year for the Lilywhites next season.
He added: “You look at them going forward, like Arsenal, those two teams going to be in the top four next year?
“I see Man City and Liverpool as the top two, then you’ve got Man United and Chelsea, you’ve got teams emerging like Wolves…
“I don’t see it for them next year, it’s going to be tough again for the two clubs in north London.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I think there has been a lot of overreaction to Wednesday’s results, which is understandable as one would have expected Jose Mourinho to have done better now that he has a fully fit squad to work with.
I think one summer is a long time in football and even without considerable investment, I would not put it beyond Mourinho to build a strong side and develop a way of playing which makes us very hard to beat.
However, the best-case scenario I can envision for next season is us finishing third or fourth, which is not really likely to excite Spurs fans after the exciting title challenges we had under Poch.
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