Redknapp pleased with ´big point´

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp declared the race for third place in the Premier League wide open after his team’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea.

The hard-earned point at Stamford Bridge sees Spurs sitting in fourth place, three points behind their north London rivals Arsenal, who defeated Aston Villa 3-0 on Saturday for their seventh league win in succession.

Redknapp believes third spot – and the Premier League’s final automatic Champions League spot – is there for the taking.

“I think it is still there (third place) – it’s not over,” Redknapp said.

“Arsenal have had a great run and they have done fantastic but they’ve had a bit of luck like we all need.

“Sometimes you get that little bit of luck and it can make the difference.

“You know that can turn just as easily – maybe we can start knocking in a few late goals in and it doesn’t go their way.

“It’s all to play for still. It’s not a done deal that Arsenal will finish third, no I don’t think so.”

Spurs are without a win from their last four Premier League matches, but Redknapp was happy to secure what he described as a ‘big point’.

“As I’ve said before, it’s not as if we have been playing badly,” Redknapp said.

“(We’ve) just not had a couple of results but we have been playing well and if we had been playing badly I would be worried.”

Chelsea interim boss Roberto Di Matteo, meanwhile, feels his side face a battle to finish in fourth place, and take the resulting Champions League play-off spot. Chelsea trail Spurs by five points with eight games remaining.

“We were looking to win the game and close the gap on Spurs, that was our idea today,” Di Matteo said.

“I think we always knew that it was going to be a difficult task but there are still eight games to play and we will try to win as many as we can to try and get into fourth spot.

“Fourth spot is very important for our club. I wouldn’t say that’s the priority now but certainly for the future of our club it’s at the top.

“To make the gap up, we would need to win all of them (remaining games). I’m not sure it’s as easy as that. You look at the fixture list and you just have to try and win the next one and go for the next one.”