Premier League

HARRY REDKNAPP has admitted he would like to return as Tottenham manager if Antonio Conte is sacked.The Italian could reportedly be dismissed this week after his astonishing rant following Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Southampton.
Harry Redknapp is open to a Tottenham returnCredit: Getty
He would even consider supporting Ryan Mason if he was to take over as interim bossCredit: Getty
Antonio Conte could reportedly been sacked this weekCredit: Getty
Coach Ryan Mason has been tipped to takeover in a caretaker capacity while Oliver Glasner and former boss Mauricio Pochettino have been linked with the job more permanently.
Now Redknapp, who managed Spurs between 2008-2012, has entered the fray after revealing he would like to return to the Tottenham dugout.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “If someone asks you, I think it would be hard to say no, I’ll be truthful.
“When you love it, you do find it hard to say no, as Roy (Hodgson) and Neil (Warnock) would agree.
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“You look at what you’re doing now, sitting around, having a game of golf, and it’s not the money, it’s the challenge, you love it, the buzz of it, winning a game is a fantastic feeling. It’s hard to say no.”
Redknapp is also open to the possibility of helping out Mason if he was entrusted to take over from Conte.
He believes young managers need all the help they can get, and when asked if he would support 31-year-old Mason, Redknapp replied: “Yeah of course, I would love that.
“With a young manager I often think that they don’t use older figures, but I think there is room for older people to go in with them and work with a young manager, even if it was only for a couple of days a week just to be around. They can bounce ideas off you – I think that’s important.
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“It’s a difficult job and when you’re young it’s important to have someone experienced there with you. I took people like Jim Smith who was older than me, at Portsmouth I’d already managed about 1000 games before I took Jim with me, but he was fanstastic for me.
“I had Frank Lampard Sr with me, I took Glenn Hoddle, Steve McClaren – I think you need good people around you, it’s important.
“It’s a lonely job and you need all the help you can get.” More

MANCHESTER CITY defender Nathan Ake has shown off his impressive physique in a new underwear advert.But team-mate Ruben Dias was quick to mock the Dutchman on social media after he shared a clip of the shoot.
Nathan Ake took part in an underwear outfit for NikeCredit: Instagram @nathanake
He showed off his ripped physique in the adCredit: Instagram @nathanake
Ake has been a regular player in Manchester City’s line-up this seasonCredit: Instagram @nathanake
Ake, 28, shared a clip of him sporting Nike underwear on his social media.
And the short video showed his ripped body as he posed in the pants.
Captioning the footage, he added: “First things first #nikeunderwear @nike #teamnike.”
That prompted centre-back partner Dias to respond in hilarious fashion.
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Ruben Dias, right, mocked Ake for his underwear advertCredit: Getty
Ake shared the advert on social mediaCredit: Instagram @nathanake
The Portuguese defender, 25, said: “Who is he? 🤣”
Ake has started 17 of Man City’s 27 Premier League games this season and featured in all but three of them.
He has shown his versatility by playing both left-back and centre-back on numerous occasions.
And his importance in the squad increased when Joao Cancelo joined Bayern Munich on loan in the mid-season window.
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Speaking about Ake back in January, Man City manager Pep Guardiola said: “Nobody talks about Nathan and right now he’s playing beyond our expectations as a left-back.
“As a defender, how good he defends, all the actions with the ball are clever, these types of players help to make the others bright like Kevin [De Bruyne] and Erling [Haaland].
“I always pay attention to these types of things.”
He has more than one million followers on InstagramCredit: Instagram @nathanake More

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH wanted to turn Regent’s Park into Chelsea’s training ground, according to former owner Ken Bates.Bates sold the Blues to Abramovich in 2003 for £140million.
Roman Abramovich wanted to turn Regent’s Park into Chelsea’s training groundCredit: Getty
Ken Bates sold Chelsea to Abramovich in 2003Credit: AFP
They agreed a deal quickly after the Russian had previously shown an interest in purchasing Manchester United.
After the takeover was completed Abramovich took a helicopter ride over the city and took a liking to Regent’s Park.
Recalling the trip, Bates told The Telegraph: “Abramovich hired a helicopter for a trip around London.
“He saw the park and said: ‘That looks like a good park. Let’s buy that for the training ground.’
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“But he got told “I don’t think you will get that. That’s Regent’s Park and it’s owned by the Queen.'”
Abramovich instead turned his attention to developing Chelsea’s training ground at Cobham, creating a state-of-the-art facility.
He grew the club on and off the pitch and sold it to Todd Boehly for £4.25billion last year.
Chelsea won every domestic and European cup during Abramovich’s 19-year reign.
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But Bates did not expect much when he took over, revealing he did not even know how much he was worth.
Asked if he knew how much Abramovich would spend on Chelsea after buying the club, Bates said: “Well of course I didn’t. I didn’t know how much he was worth.” More