Soccer: Redknapp 'not sure' about England job

Harry Redknapp admitted on Monday that he is "not sure'' whether he wants the England coaching job amid continuing speculation that the Football Association (FA) will turn to him to replace Fabio Capello.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Redknapp is the overwhelming favourite to replace Capello, who resigned last month leaving England without a permanent manager just months before Euro 2012.

Redknapp conceded that the national team role would be the ``ultimate'' position for any English manager but he hinted to French sports daily L'Equipe that leaving Spurs would be a wrench.

"I am not sure,'' he said when asked if he wanted the England job.

"I have a very good job at Tottenham at the moment and I enjoy it. But I don't know. Wait and see! I enjoy my life at Tottenham.''

The 65-year-old Redknapp also hinted that he is better suited to managing at club level than on the international stage, where he would be unable to indulge his much-vaunted love of delving into the transfer market.

"When you have a club, you look for a goalscorer and you take him,'' he said.

"When you are a national team manager, you have to make do with the players that you have in your country.

"And you hardly ever see your players. Two days every two months is very difficult.''

The FA are not expected to make any moves to replace Capello until towards the end of the season, despite the European Championships in Ukraine and Poland being just around the corner.

And Redknapp says that he is getting on with life as normal in the meantime, even identifying signing targets that would improve Spurs for next season.

One man that is high on the Tottenham wish-list is Lille's exciting Belgian winger Eden Hazard, last season's Ligue 1 player of the year.

"Our chairman is willing to pay for an exceptional talent like Eden Hazard,'' Redknapp said.

"I have seen him several times, like against Marseille recently. I also saw him in the final of the French Cup last year.

"But I know Manchester United are following him closely, and Manchester City too, so it will be difficult to get him. But I like him a lot.''

Redknapp's side slumped to a third successive Premier League defeat against Everton at the weekend, compromising their chances of holding off Arsenal and Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification.

Spurs' lead over Arsenal will be cut to just one point if the Gunners beat Newcastle United today, while Chelsea trail by just four points after their 1-0 win over Stoke on Sunday.

The Blues are without a permanent manager after the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, who Redknapp thinks faced an impossible task due to player power at Stamford Bridge.

"He took on a squad with lots of experienced players who are very close to the owner (Roman Abramovich) and they therefore have a lot of power,'' Redknapp said.

"I have had some difficult groups to manage but I have never had this problem.

"There can be solidarity between the players. If you leave two players on the bench they become unhappy and it becomes complicated.

"Perhaps Villas-Boas tried to change things too quickly, but he will learn from this experience.''

- AFP