Dubai: Harry Redknapp says he’s nowhere near Brian Clough’s mantle of being the best England manager that never was, but he does believe both he and Clough were overlooked for the same reasons.
Clough, who led Nottingham Forest to back-to-back European Cup titles in 1979 and 1980, was overlooked for the England job in 1977 and 1982 when Ron Greenwood and Bobby Robson got respective calls instead.
Redknapp, who led Tottenham Hotspur from the bottom of the Premier League to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2011, was also snubbed in 2012 when Roy Hodgson was appointed ahead of him.
“I wouldn’t put myself even close to him,” Redknapp said of Clough, speaking to Gulf News the sidelines of the Swing Against Cancer Golf Series finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Thursday.
“He was possibly the greatest manager of all-time, I mean Fergie [Alex Ferguson] has been incredible and there’s been some great managers, but to win two European Cups with Forest was beyond belief.
“Cloughie was unique and he should have been England manager, but he didn’t fit the bill. He wouldn’t have been a blazer man, he would have been too outspoken for them,” he said of the Football Association (FA).
“I don’t think I’m an FA man either. I think it would have been difficult for me as well. I think you have to toe the line with them a little bit. Maybe I just didn’t fit the criteria. You have to be a certain character, and maybe I was a bit outspoken for them. Maybe they didn’t feel I was what they wanted.
“Not only that, I think sitting in an office, going in everyday and only seeing players once every three months, wouldn’t have been something that I enjoyed. I like to be involved every day and around the players, whereas at England you rarely see them.
“It’s a bit of a poisoned chalice as well, a lot of people have been absolutely destroyed over not being successful, so maybe it wasn’t a bad one to miss. But I would have loved to have had the opportunity. If I’d have been offered it I would have loved it.”
Asked if he felt his 2012 trial for tax evasion — for which he was found not guilty — had anything to do with being snubbed by the FA, he said: “I don’t know. It was something that never should have gone to trial. It was just a load of nonsense over very little. Maybe [that affected the FA’s decision].
“I got found not guilty and walked out of court. At that time I looked sure to get it [the England job]. Spurs were flying, playing the best football in the country, but I don’t know, only the people who chose it know.
“I don’t hold grudges or regrets, that’s life, you move on, I’ve been very fortunate,” he added.
