Harry’s Spurs game over

David Moyes is the odds-on favourite to become the next Tottenham manager following reports last night that Harry Redknapp was set to leave the club.

Redknapp was reported to have held talks with chairman Daniel Levy yesterday amid claims the 65-year-old would leave White Hart Lane with a year to run on his contract.

On Tuesday Redknapp was moved to discredit speculation he was on his way out as “scandalous”, but despite that reports intensified with some claims he could leave within hours.

Those reports have been further fuelled by a number of bookies closing betting on Everton boss Moyes being named as his predecessor.

In the past week Redknapp has made it known he would be uncomfortable heading into the new season without a longer deal while also defending his relationship with Levy.

Levy apparently offered Redknapp a rolling 12-month contract whereas the former Portsmouth manager wanted a longer deal that will make the London club his last job in management.

Roberto Martinez is also being linked with the job despite Redknapp achieving Levy’s goal of reaching the top four last term. But Spurs missed out on playing in Europe’s top club competition after Chelsea’s penalty Champions League final shootout win over Bayern Munich last month.

An exit may seem harsh on Redknapp but his critics point to the fact that his team would have qualified directly for the Champions League had they not thrown away a 10-point lead over Arsenal towards the end of the season after a poor run of form.

Another source of frustration for Redknapp’s critics is the run coincided with his public flirtation with the idea of becoming England manager.

Redknapp yesterday repeated his call for Levy to hand him a new deal, claiming the impasse could see an exodus of the club’s top players like Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.

“The simple situation is, I’ve got a year left on my contract,” he told ESPN Soccernet.

“It’s up to Tottenham whether they want to extend that contract or not. If they don’t extend it and I go into my last year, it’s not an easy one when players know you’ve only got a year left.

“It’s not a case of me looking for security. What it’s about is players knowing you’ve only got one year left on your contract and knowing that it doesn’t work, basically.

“I think it’s a situation of, ‘well, he might not be here next year’.

“You don’t let players run into the last year of their contract if you think they’re any good, and you don’t let managers run into the last year of their contract if you think they’re any good.

“It’s up to Tottenham. If they think I’m okay and I’ve done a decent job and deserve an extension, they’ll give it to me. If Daniel doesn’t think I’m worth it, that’s up to him, that’s up to the club. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

The events of the past 24 hours are another turn in what has been a difficult 12 months for the Spurs boss.

In November 2011 he had a minor heart procedure to unblock two arteries and in February he was cleared of two charges of tax evasion following a 13-day trial. Modric, meanwhile, has reacted to stories linking him with a move to Manchester United.

“There are all sorts of rumours still circulating,” Modric was quoted as saying on Croatian website Gol.hr.

“I’m not saying that the clubs are not interested, but I’m still under contract with Tottenham.”

The playmaker, currently at Euro 2012 with Croatia, has been a huge hit since arriving from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 and maintains he has no problems with his life in London.