Harry Redknapp has said Tottenham Hotspur should overcome Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League next week to end talk of this season being a disappointment.
Spurs have lost their last two Premier League games, falling to defeats at Burnley and Chelsea ahead of this weekend’s north London derby against Arsenal.
As a result, Mauricio Pochettino’s have lost ground to Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race, all but ending their slim hopes of winning the Premier League this season.
However, Tottenham remain in the Champions League and go to Dortmund next week with a 3-0 first leg lead, giving them a promising chance to reach the quarter-finals of the competition.
With a trophy looking more and more unlikely this term, it would be easy to label Spurs’ campaign a failure.
But Redknapp has said his former club’s 2018/19 campaign could still be worthwhile if they reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
“With the two bad results for them this week, their hopes of winning the Premier League have gone now,” Redknapp said on talkSPORT.
“But they’ve still got the Champions League, they’ve got a big game coming up next week in Dortmund.
“They should put that to bed and then they’re in the least eight of the Champions League!
“So it’s a disappointment that they’ve faded away in the chase for the title, but there’s still a lot to play for.
“Whatever happens, it’s not been a disastrous season for Tottenham. If they finish third in the league it’s not the worst thing in the world.
“Obviously people want to see a cup and want to see Tottenham win something, but when you look at Manchester City’s squad it’s scary, they’ve got so many great players to come in all the time.
“So Spurs are still short of just winning it but, listen, they’ve had a good season, they’ve played some good stuff and if they get through this game with Dortmund they’re in the last eight of the Champions League.”
Redknapp was the last manager to lead Tottenham to a Champions League quarter-final in 2010/11, eventually losing 5-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid.
Pochettino will be hoping to go one further than Redknapp, but a potentially tricky second leg in Dortmund comes first.
