New Tottenham Hotspur manger Harry Redknapp has revealed that he is to build the Spurs team around Croatian International Luka Modric (below) ahead of the crunch UEFA Cup clash against the former playmakers club Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.
The former Portsmouth boss also hailed the quality of Croatian players, having worked closely with Niko Kranjcar at Fratton Park and bringing former International and now Croatian coach Slaven Bilic along with Igor Stimac to the Premier League, while in charge of West Ham United.
Redknapp is delighted to have Croatian’s Modric and defender Vedran Corluka, also a former Zagreb player in his squad at White Hart Lane. However, Corluka will miss the clash against his former club, as he is cup-tied. Modric is set for a key role against the side he left in the summer, but with Roman Pavlyuchenko also cup-tied Redknapp has revealed that there will be changes for the European game.
“I saw Nico [Kranjcar of Portsmouth] last week," he told Sportskenovosti.
“He's back playing which is good as he's now over his injury.
“He's a great boy, a really good person and a fantastic footballer. Modric is also a fantastic footballer and I have to build a team around him to play with him.
“We have to get him the ball as he's an amazing player. He's a special footballer and has got amazing ability like a lot of Croatian players.
“They have produced so many great players over the years. I love Croatians, every boy from Croatia I have had has just been special. I can honestly say that.
“Slaven [Bilic] was fantastic, Igor [Stimac] too at West Ham was fantastic player. Robert Prosinecki was a genius.
“We have to win at home and make sure we win. If we win this game, one more win will get us through then we can think about the league again.
“It's important we keep picking up good results and keep winning for the confidence.
“We don't want to get beaten on Thursday. I'll change the team and give players a chance who haven't played.”
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment