Redknapp contrite over tackle

Jamie Redknapp insists he did not mean to hurt Everton midfielder Tim Cahill in Tottenham’s 1-0 victory at Goodison Park yesterday.

Midfielder Redknapp forced the Australian out of the game with a mistimed left-footed lunge for which Everton boss David Moyes claimed he should have been sent off.

Cahill required lengthy treatment before limping off, but Redknapp has stressed there was no malice intended and is upset at accusations it may have been deliberate.

Redknapp said: “I can only say I didn’t mean it, and that is on my heart. I wouldn’t do that to anyone.

“I have spent enough time on treatment tables and out injured in my career not to do something like that to a fellow professional.”

Redknapp has never had a reputation as a midfield hard man, but the offence did look bad and took the shine off a win which lifted Spurs to fourth in the Premiership.

Slow motion replays did not do Redknapp any favours, and neither did Cahill’s angry reaction as he left the field. Cahill refused an apology and made a clear point that he felt he had been stamped on.

Cahill has probable knee ligament damage which will keep him out of Australia’s forthcoming World Cup qualifier against the Solomon Islands.

Redknapp added: “He reacted angrily when he went off. I suppose I would have done the same if I had thought someone had tried to hurt me. I would probably think the worst.

“I didn’t mean to do that; it wasn’t even a tackle. That is not my game, I would never do that to him.

“As I tried to let the ball run across me, I just tried to step over it to allow it to run to me. But he came in a bit quicker than I anticipated and I caught him.

“Their manager thinks I should have been sent off, and okay – that’s his opinion. But I would never try to do that to anyone. I have never done it. Anyone who has watched me play over the years knows I tackle with my right foot; if I was going to tackle to get the ball I would have done it with my right.”

Redknapp’s indiscretion was the most talked-about aspect of a match which saw plenty of commitment from both sides.

There were other moments of friction too. There was a half-time tunnel melee involving David Weir, Tony Hibbert and Thimothee Atouba; Jermain Defoe was booked for a two-footed tackle – admittedly one which won the ball but left Weir rightly upset.

Everton dominated the first half, legally hounding and harassing Tottenham - and the visitors were continually complaining to referee Graham Poll.

But in the second period they began to compete like for like and grabbed a 53rd-minute goal from full-back Noe Pamarot which ended Everton’s six-match unbeaten run.

Everton could have had one early penalty for a trip on Marcus Bent and hit the woodwork twice – but they failed to turn their late bombardment into a deserved point.

The “bus” that Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho claimed Spurs parked across the pitch when Jacques Santini’s side earned a point at Stamford Bridge recently was in evidence again.

Moyes said: “We dominated the first half-hour, and overall our play was good. We were positive but could not get the end product, and if we learned anything it was that we need to get another goal or two when we are on top.

“We won’t lose our feelgood factor. The players have performed well, and not one of them didn’t try his best.

“We could have been better – but that happens in football. The players have done so well up unti I am not going to start complaining.

“Let’s not forget what has been happening here. We have had a great start to the season and we aim to keep it going.”

Redknapp praised his team-mates for their defiance in holding on for victory.

He said: “I felt we were under a lot of pressure in the first half, but after the break we played really well.

“The back line we have got were excellent. They have virtually been thrown together these past weeks and they are playing very well as a unit.”