Blackpool 3 - 1 Tottenham - Holloway pushes Redknapp's England case

Posted Tuesday, February 22, 2011 by PA

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway is confident Harry Redknapp could get England playing like his Tottenham team.

Since being appointed as manager at White Hart Lane in 2008, Redknapp has completely transformed Spurs from Premier League strugglers to the dynamic outfit now competing in this season's Champions League knock-out rounds.

The 63-year-old has frequently been tipped to succeed England head coach Fabio Capello when the Italian leaves his post in 2012 and Holloway feels Redknapp is the right man for the job.

"We'll have to leave that to the powers that be, but I for one would love to see him in that chair," said Holloway, whose Blackpool side host Tottenham on Tuesday night.

"I think he can handle it and I think he'd get our players to play the way his clubs play - with a great deal of attacking prowess.

"He seems to get the best out of everybody, which you need as an international manager."

Last week Tottenham notched a famous 1-0 victory over AC Milan in their Champions League round-of-16 first leg at the San Siro, a result which was overshadowed by an incident in which the hosts' captain Gennaro Gattuso headbutted Spurs assistant boss Joe Jordan.

Holloway believes the way the episode was handled on Tottenham's part is further testament to Redknapp's qualities as a manager.

"How out of order was Mr Gattuso and how dignified was Joe Jordan with the whole thing?" Holloway said.

"If you knew Joe - he was Bristol City manager when I was a Bristol Rovers player - where he got that restraint from, I do not know!

"But he managed to control himself and I'm sure that is because of where he is and how he appreciates working with Harry at that club.

"People like Harry get the best out of everybody and I think he will always do that, and keep doing it.

"It's amazing that he is now doing it at one of the top clubs and I think they are very fortunate to have him."

Ahead of Tuesday's game Blackpool are still suffering a goalkeeper shortage, with Holloway's attempts to bring in a new stopper so far proving fruitless.

The Tangerines have been looking to make an emergency loan signing after Paul Rachubka sustained a serious knee injury earlier this month but it seems the prospect of a move for Blackburn's Frank Fielding hit a stumbling block because Rovers wanted him to go straight into the first team, while Holloway dismissed reports that Andy Lonergan could be joining from Preston.

Matt Gilks, out since cracking his patella in November, has suffered muscle wastage and the latest on his recovery is that he could be available for the match against Chelsea at Bloomfield Road on March 7.

Scotland Under-19 international Chris Kettings was on the Seasiders' bench as back-up to Richard Kingson for the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa and could be there again for the Spurs game.

Mark Halstead, who has returned from a loan spell at Kettering but is not fully match-fit, is another potential option, but the whole situation has left Holloway frustrated.

Meanwhile, Redknapp believes that Holloway should be crowned manager of the year if he successfully steers Blackpool clear of relegation this season.

"The job Ian Holloway has done there has been amazing, he has been great for the Premier League, a breath of fresh air" Redknapp said.

"The way his team have come and played, the way they go for it, that has been amazing.

"He has got the absolute maximum out of the players and that is the only thing you can do as a manager.

"They have a great spirit there and they are a really attacking side and push people forward.

"Everybody looked at them at the start of the year and said they would be lucky if they got 20 points, and they have passed that.

"They have a big chance of staying up and if he does that he should be manager of the year."

Redknapp will once again have to put out a patched-up side out in Lancashire as injury problems continue to hamper his side's push for a top-four spot.

Jonathan Woodgate (groin), Tom Huddlestone (ankle), Ledley King (groin), Younes Kaboul (knee) and Vedran Corluka (ankle) are all likely to be out for some time but the club are hopeful that Rafael van der Vaart (calf) and Gareth Bale (back) will be back in action in 10 days' time.

Van der Vaart was ruled out for a month towards the end of last year with a hamstring problem and picked up a groin injury during Spurs' 2-1 win at Bolton on February 5.

The Dutchman came through an hour of last week's 1-0 against AC Milan but Redknapp confirmed that he had aggravated the problem in training.