Ossie: I would have said yes to Spurs job
Tottenham Hotspur legend Ossie Ardiles has revealed he would have happily stepped in to manage his old club for a second time following the sacking of Juande Ramos.
The 1978 World Cup winner has endured a lengthy - if largely unsuccessful - coaching career since leaving White Hart Lane as manager in 1994, having made more than 200 league appearances for the north London outfit from 1978-88.
As well as coaching Swindon, Newcastle and West Brom in England, the dimuntive Argentine has managed abroad in a variety of countries and continents, including Croatia Zagreb, Yokohama Marinos, Beitar Jerusalem and, most recently, Cerro Porteno in Paraguay.
And he says he would never turn down the opportunity to coach his beloved Spurs again if asked.
"I would always say 'yes' to the Tottenham job, I am a football man, I always like to manage," he told Sport.co.uk. "I know realistically it’s not going to be a chance, I mean it would be great of course, but that is very much hypothetical."
And Ardiles feels that, in Harry Redknapp, Tottenham have the right man at the helm to rid the club of relegation worries and return them to former glories, starting with a victory in Sunday's Carling Cup final against Manchester United.
"I think he is doing very well indeed," he said. "I mean he came in at a time when Spurs were in an incredibly bad time, and looked really really awful.
"But straight away Spurs started to go up. About a month ago they were struggling a bit, but now the last game was a big game, a big three points, because that now means we are in the middle of the table looking more to the top than the bottom. So it is now a good time to play the UEFA Cup game and in Sunday's final.
"Redknapp is very frustrated, Tottenham at the moment are a Jekyll and Hyde team. Sometimes they can be wonderful and hopefully Sunday will be one of those games, and sometimes they can produce very very bad performances.
"So it’s a pattern for Harry I would say, and certainly he will not be happy with that and he will look to strengthen the squad at end of season."
SPURS FANS! Check FourFourTwo.com’s ever-expandinginterviews archivefor more stuff to read:
Web Exclusives Les Ferdinand, Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker, Glenn Hoddle, Frederic Kanoute
One on One Paul Gascoigne, Les Ferdinand, Ossie Ardiles
Boy's A Bit Special Chris Gunter, John Bostock
Ask A Silly Question Garth Crooks
Perfect XI Ossie Ardiles
My Secret Vice Neil Ruddock
Plus! Martin Peters on Weekend Wonders and Spurs on Talentspotter
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
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