Europe or bust for Harry’s Hotspur

It had been a miserable weekend for Harry Redknapp.

On Friday he informed journalists in their Sunday paper briefing that he was not convinced he could keep midfield maestro Luka Modric at the club and that the lure of big money and guaranteed Champions League football for the 26-year-old might be too much to resist.

But he added a silver lining to the grim news; he was adamant that Gareth Bale, a younger player with more to learn, would remain at White Hart Lane and continue to carry the club forward whether or not they were playing among Europe’s elite.

Unfortunately, Bale was not privy to his boss’s plans because on Saturday morning, 24 hours after his manager had defiantly vowed to reject the advance of Barcelona et al in the summer, a televised interview with Bale was aired in which he clearly stated that he would have to assess his future should Spurs not qualify for next season’s Champions League and see what was best for his own personal future.

So, after his two biggest players’ interest in exiting the out-of-form side became very public knowledge, Redknapp could have done with Chelsea, Tottenham’s rivals along with Newcastle for the coveted fourth spot that could keep the exciting squad together, slipping up in their game against QPR in the earlier kick-off.

They did not. Instead, Chelsea destroyed Rangers 6-1 and in doing so leapfrogged the north Londoners leaving them temporarily in sixth spot.

But once the game kicked off things started to look a lot brighter.

Aaron Lennon almost put his side ahead in the opening minute when Modric jinxed down the left wing and his deflected left-footed cross bounced to the winger who hit the side-netting with a volley.

With Scott Parker omitted from the squad with an Achilles’ tendon injury it was down to Sandro to step in and provide the back four with a shield — the Brazilian did that and much more. On eight minutes he strayed from Parker’s usual script and smashed a 25-yard strike against the Blackburn woodwork. Steve Kean’s men appeared hapless.

QPR’s defeat in the west London derby should have inspired Blackburn or at least given them a glimmer of hope in their desperate fight for survival. But on 22 minutes they displayed the sort of form that looks certain to condemn them to the Championship in a couple of weeks.

Bale’s header from a pinpoint cross rattled the woodwork, with Paul Robinson well beaten, and instead of reacting first to the loose ball the visiting defence watched as van der Vaart smashed the ball over the line.

Into the second half and Spurs keeper Brad Friedel took to skipping across his penalty box in an effort to keep warm, so little was the need for his concentration in a game his side was dominating to an almost embarrassing extent — Blackburn did not have one single attempt on or off target all game.

Tottenham tirelessly poured forward and will be disappointed that they didn’t score a handful of goals .

David Dunn, presumably given the duty of adding energy and guile to the centre of his side’s midfield, looked out of shape and ideas while the usually prolific Yakubu was starved of service from any angle.

Even when in utter control Tottenham’s inability to double their lead ensured there was an underlining sense of nervousness that Blackburn, who boast the joint best strike rate for a team outside the top six, would stun the home side with a goal on the break and thoroughly against the run of play.

That fear was eased when Rovers hit man Yakubu was replaced on 71 minutes and three minutes later Kyle Walker curled home a stunning free-kick from 35-yards to kill off Blackburn and keep Tottenham’s top-four hopes alive and, possibly more importantly, their sought-after squad together.