Soccer AM Xmas Special: Harry and Jamie Redknapp talk Christmas
What's Christmas like for Harry and Jamie? Soccer AM found out on their festive special.
Last Updated: 25/12/13 12:23pm
That's what we asked Harry and Jamie Redknapp as the father and son duo joined Soccer AM for their Christmas Special.
Jamie admits he was football mad as a youngster and was not at all bothered that his father, who managed Bournemouth from 1983 to 1992, would have to work on Christmas Day ahead of the Boxing Day fixtures.
Indeed, he relished the chance to go and see his dad at work.
"It was great," Jamie said.
"The best part of Christmas was that I always used to get a new pair of football boots every year.
"Dad would be training. Bournemouth would usually train on Christmas Day morning so we'd open the presents, my brother and I, and then we'd go up to Bournemouth to see the training and if I was lucky I'd be able to join in with the first team.
"That was the best thing about it. That's what I'll always remember. I couldn't wait to get to the training ground if it was snowing or cold or whatever."
Training
Little has changed for Redknapp Sr as Harry will once again be spending Christmas morning on the training ground, this time with QPR ahead of their Boxing Day Championship match with Nottingham Forest.
And he says he will spend a lot of time on the road this year, leaving his wife to do most of the jobs around the house.
Haryy said: "We train on Christmas morning, so my plans are to then drive back to where I live down in Bournemouth for my dinner and then drive back again to get a coach to Notts Forest.
"I wouldn't have a clue how to carve a turkey. Sandra does all that. I have about 16 of them [family] round and she does all the cooking.
"We just sit there and eat it and I have a kip in the afternoon for an hour and crash out! All the grandkids are making all the noise and I sneak out for 10 minutes for a bit of kip.
"We are travelling this year up to Notts Forest, so there will be a lot of driving up and down the M3!"
Changes
Harry knows that the Christmas period will be vital to his team's hopes of promotion and admits he made big changes to the team at the start of the season.
And he said he turned to players he was familiar with as he plotted QPR's return to the Premier League following their relegation.
"You never know what to expect," he added.
"The year before Wolves came down and I expected them to go straight back up and they ended up going straight through the division.
"You just don't know. We changed the team completely. Eighteen players left, we bought a whole new group of players in and you just hope they gel.
"What we did, 90% of them were lads that I knew and I knew they were good lads who would come and do the job and were capable.
"There was Gary O'Neil and Richard Dunne, who I've tried to sign many times over the years. I knew if Dunney was fit he'd be as good as any centre-half in that division and he's been great for us.
"I've followed Charlie Austin's career because his granddad is a big pal of mine down in Bournemouth. And then people like Niko Kranjcar, Tom Carroll and Benoit Assou-Ekotto played for me at Tottenham."
