Gallas hails 'magical' Redknapp

Gallas hails 'magical' Redknapp

Published Nov. 25, 2010 1:15 p.m. ET

Spurs sealed qualification for the knockout stages of the competition with a game to spare on Wednesday night after they swept aside Werder Bremen at White Hart Lane. Reaching the last 16 with such aplomb is a remarkable achievement for a club whose last campaign among Europe's elite came almost half a century earlier, and Gallas has no doubt the credit for their success lies at the manager's door. "Maybe he has something magic, you know?" said the 33-year-old, who retained the captaincy after being handed the armband in Saturday's north London derby. Redknapp returned the compliment by comparing Gallas to his legendary former West Ham team-mate Bobby Moore following another stellar display from the defender. Redknapp was referring to a tackle made by Gallas on Marko Marin, which was reminiscent of Moore's famous challenge on Jairzinho at the 1970 World Cup. Gallas' intervention, which helped Tottenham keep a first clean sheet for 17 games, saw the Frenchman treated to an affectionate chant from the White Hart Lane faithful. Coming on top of his north London derby heroics, that moment appeared to demonstrate he had won over the last of the doubters following his summer defection from Arsenal. Gallas refused to dwell on his own display on Wednesday night, saying: "It's very important for the team when you don't concede a goal. "That means everybody works hard." The past week has seen Redknapp repeatedly claim there is no reason why Spurs cannot challenge for major honours this season. Gallas reckons Saturday's comeback from 2-0 down at the Emirates Stadium has convinced the players their manager's words are not pie in the sky. "After Saturday, I think the players know we can do something," he said. "We have the quality, so what we have to understand is to believe in ourselves and go on the pitch and fight for 90 minutes." Those sentiments were echoed by Peter Crouch, who netted his sixth Champions League goal of the season last night to wrap up a 3-0 win. The England striker, who rejoined Spurs from Liverpool in the summer of 2009, said: "Right from the start when I came to this club, I was looking round the dressing room thinking, 'How have we not achieved anything?', and I think it's only a matter of time. "Last season, obviously finishing fourth was a great achievement but I think we can go one better and try to win something this year." The 29-year-old reckons the current squad at White Hart Lane is stronger even than that at Liverpool which reached the 2007 Champions League final. He said: "We had some great individuals when I was at Liverpool, and we managed to reach the Champions League final - which was fantastic - but as a group of players I don't think I've played with better. "It's not just the team, it's the squad. We've got so many international players waiting to get on and get a game. "It's just a pleasure being part of it." Next month's draw for the last 16 could see Spurs paired with one of the giants of European football, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Bayern Munich. Admitting it would be better for Tottenham to win their final Group A game at FC Twente which would see them avoid some of the bigger names, Crouch nevertheless declared there was nothing to fear from any opponent. "We've got such quality in our dressing room, in our squad, that we shouldn't be afraid of anyone - and I think we've proved that this week," he said. "Beating Arsenal and winning another Champions League game quite comfortably, we shouldn't be frightened of anyone."

ADVERTISEMENT
share