Euro progress vital for Spurs

Harry Redknapp knows Tottenham Hotspur must progress to the group stages of the Champions League to maintain the team’s remarkable rise under his leadership.

Redknapp’s side capitalised on Liverpool’s fall from grace to finish fourth in the Premier League last season and secure a place in the Champions League play-off round just 18 months after he took over a team stuck in the relegation zone.

The mouthwatering prospect of fixtures against the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan has got everyone at White Hart Lane dreaming of a return to the team’s glory days of the 1960s, when they last competed in Europe’s elite club competition.

But before that can happen, Tottenham have to win a season-defining clash with Young Boys Bern in the two-legged play-off.

Redknapp only needs to cast his mind back five years to see the destructive effect failing to reach the group stages had on Everton.

David Moyes’ side were euphoric when they surprisingly finished fourth in 2005, but the momentum from the achievement quickly disappeared when they lost both legs of the qualifying round against Spanish club Villarreal.

In the space of 180 minutes, morale at Goodison Park went from sky high to rock bottom.

The Toffees were so unsettled that they lost eight of their first 10 matches and Moyes’ men spluttered along for the rest of the season under a cloud of regret at their missed opportunity.

It is a salutary lesson for Redknapp and his players not to underestimate Young Boys.

“We’ll be favourites, obviously, but we have to give them the utmost respect,” Redknapp said.

“They beat Fenerbahce in the last round and we watched the first leg on dvd and they could have won four or five, they hammered them at home.

“There are no easy games at this level. They also have an astroturf pitch at their stadium and they play well on it, so it will be a tough game for us.”

Fortunately for Spurs, they are unlikely to face as tough a test against the Swiss minnows as Everton did against Villarreal.

Redknapp has waited too long for a chance to pit his wits against the top clubs in Europe to blow it now and his team should be good enough to cruise through.

How far they get after that is another matter. For a manager usually so fond of wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, Redknapp has been surprisingly quiet so far.

The only new face in his squad is Brazilian midfielder Sandro and even he agreed to move to north London last season, with the transfer officially completed during pre-season.

Redknapp has been linked with a host of players, including Manchester City strikers Craig Bellamy and Emmanuel Adebayor, West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, Nice forward Loic Remy and French defender William Gallas, who is available on a free transfer after his release from Arsenal.

Any of those would improve the depth of Redknapp’s squad as he tries to keep the team in contention for another top-four finish and also progress to the knock-out stages of the Champions League.

Whatever Redknapp ends up doing in the transfer market, the likes of Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and Jermain Defoe should be capable of delivering a memorable European night or two for a fanbase starved of success for so long.