Redknapp: ´Fifth would be great´

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp believes a fifth-place finish would be a great achievement after his side beat Liverpool 2-0 on Sunday.

The win at Anfield put Spurs back into fifth in the Premier League, leapfrogging Kenny Dalglish’s team thanks to goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric.

Redknapp said guaranteeing a Europa League spot for next season would add to an already strong season.

“We want to finish as high as we can. We want to finish fifth if we can and that would be great,” he told Sky Sports.

“We’ve had a great season. We had a great run in the Champions League and to finish fifth would be a great achievement from the players.”

The boss also heaped praise on central defender Ledley King after he made a successful return from injury.

“I took a real gamble today with Ledley. He was a little bit apprehensive about playing and I think wanted to leave it to the beginning of next season,” Redknapp said.

“But I thought we needed to know sooner or later whether he was going to come back and play and we pushed him into it a bit.”

“But he is an amazing footballer when you think about it. He doesn’t train and then comes out and produces a performance like that. It’s amazing really.”

A win at home to Birmingham City on the last day of the season would guarantee Tottenham fifth spot.

Liverpool manager Dalglish said his team never reached the standard that had seen them go undefeated in their five previous outings.

“We never played as well as we can play and that’s the disappointing thing for the players because it would have been a fitting way for them to finish the last game at Anfield for the season for their efforts since January,” he said.

“But maybe it was too much for them.”

The Scot also called on match officials to explain their decisions after referee Howard Webb awarded Tottenham a penalty after Steven Pienaar fell under a seemingly legitimate challenge from John Flanagan.

“I’m not here to sponsor the FA. It’s unhelpful to everybody that we can’t express our true thoughts and it’s even more disappointing that the officials get away scot-free without having to explain their decisions.”

The Reds travel to face Aston Villa on the last day of the season but must rely on Tottenham losing if they are to claim fifth spot.