Carling Cup - Redknapp: I had to 'sort them out'

Eurosport - Wed, 07 Jan 00:16:00 2009

Harry Redknapp admitted he had some harsh words to say at half-time before Tottenham came from behind to beat Burnley 4-1 in the Carling Cup.

2008-2009 Tottenham Hotspur Harry Redknapp - 0

Second-half goals from Michael Dawson, Jamie O'Hara, Roman Pavlyuchenko and an own goal from Michael Duff turned the semi-final first leg on its head after Martin Paterson's close-range finish had sent the Championship side in ahead at the break at White Hart Lane.

"I was impressed with them," said Redknapp of his Championship opponents.

"In the first half they were fantastic, they played five in the middle, they broke and they passed the ball.

"At half-time you could not see that result coming, that was for sure, and nor could I. At half-time I had to get in to them big time and sort a few of them out really."

The manager's words obviously did the trick: Spurs come out rejuvenated, scoring four goals in 20 minutes to turn the game round and take a seemingly insurmountable lead to the second leg.

"We were a different team [in the second half].

"We have got to play like that all the time. We can't play like we did in the first half.

"We squeezed up second half, got in contact with them and put them under pressure."

Tottenham defender Michael Dawson reiterated his added: "The first-half performance was not good. We went in at half-time and he told us we had to respond and we did that.

"We knew one goal could change the game and we got it early."

Dawson missed Tottenham's win over Chelsea in last year's final through injury and is determined to make amends this time.

"Last year was heartbreaking," he added. "We have got another chance this year and hopefully we can take it."

Team Talk / Eurosport

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  1. Too right COYS you are the first person i,ve seen on­ here advocating a new central midfielder and a left­ back ! well spotted , we are a feeble team without­ someone taking charge in midfield?? we never own the­ game any more and you can,t own the game with strikers­ .Has anybody asked if Gattuso is looking for a move ,­ he is the man!
    Well done harry , you coached us a good­ win last night ,Thanks

    From I, on Wed 7 Jan 8:12AM

  2. Well done Arry, and for balance, yes we really do need­ an out and out LW. Bentley should be saved for RW­ duties, let him fight out with Lennon ! We need a­ decent strong CM and back up CD IMO. COYS !!!

    From ispurs, on Wed 7 Jan 8:00AM

  3. Too right he had to sort them out. Best thing he could­ do was get Bentley off. He shouldn't be on the­ pitch when Lennon's available. I disagreed with­ everyone when we bought Bentley, they said the only­ person who thinks he's a good player is himself.­ Unfortunately they were right! Play Bale on the left­ wing and get a LB as cover for Assou-Ekotto.
    Burnley­ ran riot in the first half and truly deserved the­ lead.
    Well played Burnley, looking forward to the­ second leg.

    From Big G, on Wed 7 Jan 7:57AM

  4. Burnley put up a good fight in the first half,played­ with a good game plan. But the truth is in the second­ half Spurs showed the gulf in quality by being able to­ change their plan. O'hara looked like a 16m­ man,unlike the useless dud he replaced!!Harry now knows­ he cant play Bently and Lennon together, because our­ midfield was swamped in the first half.Bale is not a­ decent left back, I would be looking for a new one­ right now!!

    From Wayne, on Wed 7 Jan 7:13AM

  5. Just got home having been to the game tonight! My­ Burnley were fantastic in the first half but Spurs got­ the luck as well as great play in the twenty minutes­ there tore us apart.Jamie OHara changed the game and­ was excellent for Spurs but Burnley did show that they­ can play great football. Sad to have lost 4-1 but still­ busting with pride over our Cup run! Steve

    From steven_doney, on Wed 7 Jan 3:35AM
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