Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp: I couldn’t enjoy second leg win against AC Milan

Harry Redknapp, Tottenham

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Harry Redknapp admitted he was on the edge of his seat as his Tottenham side ground out a goalless draw at White Hart Lane against AC Milan to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Spurs defender William Gallas was the hero of the match after goal-line clearance from Robinho’s close range effort, which had deflected off Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s back.

Redknapp revealed he couldn’t enjoy the game until the final whistle with his team on the back foot for most of the match.

“I enjoyed the occasion, but no, I couldn’t say I enjoyed the 90 minutes,” Redknapptold ITV . “You’re looking at that clock and you want it to go and that 90 minutes to be up.

“It’s a great achievement for this club being in the last eight of the Champions League, it’s amazing what the players have done and if people can’t appreciate and enjoy this tonight then they shouldn’t be involved in football, it’s fantastic for everybody.”

When asked if he needed to come down from the ceiling after such a high pressured game, Redknapp added: “No, not me, takes an awful lot me to get me that high.

“It’s great for the players and great for the fans and great for everybody, I’m delighted,” he added.

“It was hard work out there tonight; they were a great side and you could see why they’re a good club with great tradition, for winning the Champions League, and it showed tonight the game they played, with Clarence Seedorf and people like that were difficult to get near. Pato had some fantastic ability in the team.

“We worked our socks off, we stayed with them and it’s a difficult situation for us as I said before, when you come home and you’ve got that one-goal lead, you try to protect it, whilst at the same time it’s not like you go for broke, you’re always aware of hanging on to that lead and it was very difficult.”

The home side were forced to do most of the defending during the match as the Rossoneri fought to get an equaliser in the tie; Tottenham already in the lead on aggreagte thanks to Peter Crouch’s goal in Italy in the first leg.

However, as the match wore on, Redknapp’s men held on, but the former Portsmouth manager believes it wasn’t a case of parking the bus.

“No not really, we got outnumbered in the middle of the park; Seedorf played in that spare role, they narrowed up and they had extra men in there and passed the ball well in midfield and made it difficult for us to get near them.”

After Barcelona knocked out fellow rivals Arsenal in clinical fashion, Redknapp was quietly reluctant on whether he would welcome the Catalan side in the quarter-finals and once again refused to take his side’s European success for granted.

“I thought last night Barcelona against Arsenal was one of the finest performances I’ve seen, Barca were amazing last night,” he said.

“They made a great team like Arsenal, that pass the ball as good as they do in our league every week, look almost out their depth. They were on another level weren’t they?

“They’re the team you don’t want to play at the moment, but whoever comes it’s great to be in the last eight.”