Strengthened Spurs set for Stoke

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp will revert to his strongest side when fellow Premier League strugglers Stoke City visit on Tuesday after criticism of his recent selection policy.

Redknapp’s frank admission he didn’t care about the FA Cup this season, despite lifting the trophy in May with Portsmouth, led to him field a “mish mash” team during Saturday’s Cup defeat against Manchester United.

The former Southampton boss retracted his comments, claiming he picked the strongest team available, but some Spurs fans felt the manager had left them short-changed at Old Trafford.

Injuries to captain Ledley King, tricky winger Aaron Lennon, goalkeeper Heurelho Gomez, wing-back Vedran Corluka and midfielder Jamie O’Hara partly forced Redknapp’s hand, but having the luxury of fielding a team that cost over 80 million pounfs at Old Trafford meant sympathy was in short supply.

Redknapp remained defiant about his team’s performance in Manchester, saying: “(The) criticism is unfair. I think people are jumping on a bandwagon. (Old Trafford) is a tough place to go and it is not like we were beaten 6-1. We lost 2-1.”

He added: “Everyone wants to jump on Tottenham at the moment. I was happy with the effort.

Although there are four months of the season still to go, Tuesday’s clash at White Hart Lane is of vital importance as Tottenham and their Midlands visitors are two of five clubs tied at the bottom of an incredibly tight league table with 21 points.

Redknapp enjoyed instant success on his arrival at the Lane, gaining 10 points in his first four games, but the Lillywhites have now gone six league games without a win and have been dumped out of the FA Cup.

One silver lining for the former Portsmouth boss is the prospect of a Wembley final after his team beat Burnley on aggregate in the League Cup semi-final.

However, the London club only advanced due to a controversial away goals rule which led to extra-time last week at Turf Moor rather than a Burnley win after Spurs had thrown away a three-goal first leg lead.

Redknapp’s post-match comments did little to appease the travelling support who believe he is trying to pass the blame for the club’s precarious league position onto the squad and former manager Juande Ramos.

“It’s been put together by I don’t know who, I don’t know how,” the ex-Bournemouth boss said of his squad. “It’s a mish-mash. It’s scary.”

Spurs’s players were reportedly worried about being picked for the FA Cup game at Old Trafford as it indicated they were not valued by Redknapp.

Redknapp, looking to bring in fresh talent, failed in a transfer window bid to sign Wales striker Craig Bellamy, losing out to Manchester City.

But Spurs did secure the services of Wigan’s Honduras midfield powerhouse Wilson Palacios.

Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones, who Redknapp loaned out while manager of Southampton, is high up on the manager’s shopping list after Spurs missed a glut of chances in their last Premiership match against Portsmouth.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis will have little sympathy for his opposing number as his team, assembled at a fraction of the cost of Redknapp’s stars, battle to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

The Potters have now gone eight league games without a win after two goals conceded in the final two minutes in their most recent league game against Chelsea condemned them to a soul-crushing defeat.

Stoke come into the game much the fresher after a weekend off following their embarrassing 2-0 loss to Hartlepool in the third round of the FA Cup.

Jamaica striker Ricardo Fuller is in line to return for Stoke after serving a three-match suspension for clashing with his own full-back Andy Griffin during their defeat against West Ham.