Harry Redknapp promises all-out Tottenham attack against Milan

Posted Tuesday, February 15, 2011 by theguardian.com

• 'We will have a right go again at San Siro,' says Redknapp
• Gareth Bale out injured, Luka Modric set to start on bench

Harry Redknapp says Gareth Bale's absence against Milan is a 'big loss' but the midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has been declared fit.

Harry Redknapp has insisted Tottenham Hotspur will not compromise their attacking principles against Milan and promised to "have a right go" against the Serie A leaders at San Siroon Tuesday night. The Spurs manager, who will be without Gareth Bale and potentially Luka Modric for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie, said he had no intention of trying to "shut up shop" against the seven-time winners of the competition.

Redknapp will ask his team to produce more of the same after watching them score 24 goals and concede 14 in eight remarkable European matches this season. Peter Crouch is set to start up front after having an injection to cure his back problem and Rafael van der Vaart has also been declared fit, with the Dutchman expected to play in an advanced role in front of Sandro and Wilson Palacios in central midfield. Niko Kranjcar will come in for Bale.

It is far from Redknapp's strongest side but the Spurs manager refused to be downbeat about their prospects. He is confident Tottenham are capable of causing the Italian team problems, although he also acknowledged there can be no repeat of the catastrophic first-half performance against Internazionale in the same stadium four months ago, when Spurs were 4-0 down before Bale's remarkable second-half hat-trick.

"We can score here," Redknapp said. "I don't want to concede bags of goals, for sure. We can't afford the same mistakes [as we made against Inter]. We can't start like that again. But as far as shutting up shop goes, it's a non-starter because we don't have the players here.

"If I had two wide men who could do a job and sit there and just be solid, I might think about it. But those type of players are not at this club. The only two midfielders we have who are fit are Sandro and Palacios for the middle of the park. There is no one else."

It promises to be a thrilling match if Redknapp stays true to his word. "Attacking football is what got us here in the first place," he said. "We have had a go all through this competition so we will have a right go again at San Siro.

"We can't come out and be completely gung-ho. But what I'm saying is that I do have a problem setting a team up to defend. Rafael van der Vaart plays the way he plays. Niko Kranjcar and [Aaron] Lennon – we haven't got defensive players to play with five across midfield and soak it up."

Redknapp described Bale's absence as a "big loss" after confirming the Welshman broke down in training on Saturday morning after the staff tried to "push him on a little bit". The news in relation to Modric, who recently had his appendix removed, is more positive but the Spurs manager is reluctant to pick a player who has completed only a couple of training sessions. The Croat looks likely to be on the bench, where Redknapp may name two goalkeepers due to his threadbare squad.

"I don't want to harp on about Bale or Luka but they are key players who are so important for us," said the Tottenham manager, whose options in central midfield are further restricted because Tom Huddlestone remains sidelined through injury and Jermaine Jenas is suspended. "We have just got to do the job but without the flair that those kind of players [Bale and Modric] would provide. Sandro is not a Luka Modric, he plays differently. He has hardly been in my team all year. It's a big ask but he is up for it."

Redknapp, whose priority against Milan is to ensure that Spurs finish the first leg with the tie still alive, knows what to expect from Massimiliano Allegri's side, who seem likely to start with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexandre Pato up front.

"They haven't got blistering pace, not a [Samuel] Eto'o or someone like that. They are different to Inter, who have real pace in wide positions. They're a clever team with experience and the Brazilian boy [Pato] is good."

Playing Milan in the knockout stages of the Champions League prompted Redknapp to declare this could be the start of a "golden era" for the club. "The opportunity is there," he said. "It's like everything, you've got to keep improving if you want to compete with the top clubs.

"I think the owners want to compete so it's up to them. They hold the key more than the manager. If the right people come along, I think the club would finance it, and if they do that for the next few years the sky is the limit for Tottenham."

Milan will also be picking from an understrength squad because of injuries to Andrea Pirlo and Kevin-Prince Boateng and the unavailability of Antonio Cassano and Mark van Bommel, who are cup-tied. Not that William Gallas was aware Cassano was ineligible. The Frenchman waxed lyrical about Cassano's threat before it was pointed out to him that the forward cannot play. "I don't follow football, I'm sorry," Gallas said.