Harry Redknapp believes Spurs’ 1-1 draw at Aston Villa this afternoon was both two points dropped and one gained.
Tottenham would have climbed above Arsenal and into third place with a win but they needed Emmanuel Adebayor’s second-half penalty to earn a point after Ciaran Clark had given the hosts the lead.
The visitors also had to play most of the second half with ten men after Danny Rose was sent off and Redknapp said: “I think when you’re down to ten men and 1-0 down, it’s a point gained in the end but on the balance of the game it’s two points lost. There was only one winner, wasn’t there, in the second half. We penned them in with ten men.
“A win today and we were guaranteed fourth place but it’s all to play for still. There’s one game left and look at the permutations. It could be Chelsea, it could be Newcastle, it could be us, it could be Arsenal, it’s just impossible to tell. We’ve all got tough games next week, so it’s going to be an interesting last day of the season for sure.”
Asked about Rose’s challenge that earned the red card, the Spurs boss admitted: “It didn’t look a great tackle to be honest with you. He caught Alan Hutton, there was no doubt about that. I don’t know if he got pushed by Charles N’Zogbia. And it’s not like Danny, he’s not a nasty player, it’s not in his nature to do something like that, it was a bit out of character.”
Looking ahead to the final day of the season next Sunday when Spurs entertain Fulham in a London derby, Redknapp said: “Fulham, a hard game. Mind you Arsenal have got no gimmee, West Brom away, Newcastle go to Everton. If Chelsea go and win at Liverpool and beat Blackburn, we’d have to win. A draw won’t do you.
“We need to win but it will be a tough game. Martin Jol won’t be coming back to Tottenham wanting to help us, that’s for sure. They’re a good team. I think Fulham are a difficult team to beat.”
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