Corluka claims lack of rotation has cost Spurs

Vedran Corluka believes Tottenham could finish sixth in the Premier League because of Harry Redknapp’s refusal to rotate his squad.

Redknapp made fewer changes to his team over the festive period than any manager in the top flight and it paid dividends at the time as Spurs kept pace with both Manchester clubs at the top of the table.

But the Tottenham boss’s failure to field some of the club’s squad players led to four of them — including Corluka — leaving White Hart Lane in January, and the players that remained have tired recently.

After being 12 points clear of fourth-placed Arsenal in February, Tottenham now find themselves in fifth, three points behind Newcastle with four games left and Corluka, who is on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, fears for his parent club.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished sixth,” Corluka admitted. “They didn’t rotate enough. They don’t have depth on the bench. That’s the main problem. I watched almost every Spurs game and they played them all with the same 11, 12, 13 players and that’s why the players now are really tired.

“I don’t know what the chairman will do if they don’t qualify [for the Champions League]. I know only that it will be an unsuccessful season. Three months before they were in the title race. [Now they] are fifth and it’s going to be really difficult for them.”