IF I know Harry Redknapp – and I think I do – the slur delivered by AC Milan's manager will only get him and his team more fired up for the next round of the Champions League.

The club's grande formaggio, Massimiliano Allegri, has made a fairly weak attempt at mind games ahead of our two-leg tie with I Rossonieri.

Apparently, we represent “one of the least tricky of possible opponents” and “always give something away” at the back.

Damn him, I say. Damn him and ruthlessly accurate assessment of our defensive frailties.

But as true as some of his comments might be, I now believe we pose a threat to some of the best teams in Europe, so any suggestion that we'll be a push-over at either White Hart Lane or the San Siro is nonsense.

Beating AC Milan and progressing to the quarter-finals would be no piccola birra of course, but on our day we can play football that would put any team on the back foot.

Plus, our pace on the counter-attack is well-suited to playing Italian sides because of their naturally slower, deliberate style.

And don't forget their squad has an average age of about 50 so our spunky young players should run rings around them. I hope.

It's bad enough when football managers in this country shoot their mouths off, but when one delivers a barb from halfway across the continent, that really takes the biscotti.