Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp discusses the situation at Spurs in the wake of Antonio Conte's exit; the Italian departed on Sunday night after publicly criticising his players in the wake of the draw at Southampton; Redknapp says Spurs isn't "built for winning" under Daniel Levy
Tuesday 28 March 2023 08:55, UK
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp says Antonio Conte's position as Tottenham manager was untenable, that the club are not "built for winning" and that Harry Kane could leave this summer.
Speaking following Conte's departure on Sunday night, Redknapp - who spent three years at Spurs as a player - said the manager's position had been "untenable" ever since he unleashed his now infamous rant towards his players after they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at struggling Southampton before the international break.
Redknapp also explains why he feels Tottenham may never compete for trophies under Daniel Levy, the chairman, while also discussing why Kane may believe this summer is the time to finally secure a move away from north London.
I said after the game against Southampton that Antonio Conte's position became untenable. Not so much among the players because a lot of what he said he’s said before to the players.
I think it was more when he spoke about the culture at the club and speaking about the last 15 years. He can’t be speaking about the players because those players haven’t really been there that long - you can’t really blame them.
But when he said what he said I think his position became untenable with the owners.
With 10 games to go they would have been scrambling around but have decided to go with what they already had at the club and not somebody like Mauricio Pochettino.
What that tells you is Daniel Levy doesn’t really think he’s the right man for the club going forward.
If Conte hadn't had this problem then Spurs probably would remain in the top four, yes. But Newcastle, Liverpool and everyone that's in the top-four race will, I'm sure, be loving this news.
It's given the players a certain excuse if they don't make the top four but they owe it to the fans, they owe it to themselves and they all want to play in the Champions League.
It's a 50-50 call. I think this is really good news for the clubs around them. But Tottenham did it last year so there's no reason they can't do it this year.
I’m not surprised it hasn't worked for Conte - it’s a very difficult club to manage and it always has been.
If you look at the managers they’ve gone through in the last few years, they almost bang their heads against a brick wall and find it very difficult to ever get any control of that club.
It’s very much controlled by Daniel Levy - he wants to make all the decisions and I think that’s always been a major problem with Tottenham. The culture, I believe, is always set from the top.
I spent 11 years at Liverpool - we didn’t win enough in my time there - but you always felt they were always trying to get in the right players and signed big names to make sure they were in the mix to win trophies.
I never quite get that feeling with Tottenham. They’re never quite in the mix for the big players that you want to sign.
If Tottenham are ever really going to achieve then that has to change. Richarlison, Yves Bissouma… I wouldn’t really call them signings that are going to change the culture of the club or go and win that trophy that you need.
Until that changes and you get owners that really want to compete and sign big-name players, it’s always going to be the same problem.
I don’t think missing out on the Champions League would make a lot of difference on recruitment because the players they’re usually in for aren’t the ones who are going to be thinking: ‘I need to play in the Champions League’.
They’ve never run the club like that so I don’t expect them to do it this time.
They won’t be in for the likes of Declan Rice because they don’t necessarily want to go for the players that are going to cost that much.
You talk about Arsenal wanting to go for those players but I don’t think that’s Tottenham’s style and it’s never going to be - I believe - while Levy’s in charge.
If they want to really achieve it will probably be with the next owners. While the current owners are in charge it makes it very difficult for you to be vying for those players.
They want to be buying players that might become a star but it doesn’t always work like that. You’ve got to be vying for these blue-chip players.
It’s been the longest drought in history - they need some rain sooner or later.
This trophy drought isn’t just about the stadium. When I was at the club I felt it wasn’t really built for winning. It was a completely different culture to what I’d been at with Liverpool.
So no, I don’t think you can blame the stadium because this has been happening for many years.
You’ve got to relinquish power sometimes as an owner and give the manager the chance, because when you’ve got one or two years at a club it’s never going to be long enough.
I’ve got no idea what Harry Kane's going to do.
Harry’s in a very good position because he’s out of contract next year. He might believe Tottenham’s the right club for him where he can win all the individual awards, but in terms of winning trophies at Tottenham, I don’t really see that right now.
In less than a year he can sign a free contract with somebody. His negotiators will be talking to clubs and clubs will know the situation. That’s how football works - we bury our heads in the sand and say it’s not but he’ll have plenty of options because he’s a world-class player.
In terms of where he’d go, I’ve felt Manchester United could be an option.
While there’s this chaos at Tottenham, it doesn’t help your cause of keeping your star player. Every year you’re getting a new manager in and he’s probably thinking: ‘What’s the point of this?’ You need some continuity - that’s conducive to success.
I would say this is Kane's last chance to secure a big transfer, yes. This is a big opportunity to go if he wants to. He’s a Tottenham fan, he adores the club and there’s no doubt that, if he does go, it would be with a heavy heart.
You’re not really in a strong position to negotiate if you’re Tottenham. It felt like Tottenham made the move to get Jose Mourinho and Conte to try to get that trophy, almost for Kane.
But the fact these two managers - who are serial winners - haven’t worked, you start to question: ‘Well, who can actually win at this club?’ The potential is there but it’s just not being realised right now. The culture at the club doesn’t seem to be right in terms of being a winning mentality.
If you’re a manager right now, you might think: ‘Why would I go there?’ The only good thing as a manager is you come in, you get sacked and then you get paid. All the managers must think: ‘This is a great laugh coming to Tottenham’.
That shouldn’t be the case - you should be building something special like what’s happening up the road at Arsenal. There you can see a real plan, a real direction. At Tottenham it just feels chaotic right now.
