Football: Harry says being Cherries boss shaped him (From Thisisdorset)

Football: Harry says being Cherries boss shaped him

7:00am Monday 13th February 2012 in Sport

HARRY Redknapp has revealed how learning his trade at Dean Court put him on the path to becoming a top football manager.

Sandbanks-based Redknapp is the hot favourite to be offered the job as England boss following Fabio Capello’s resignation.

The Tottenham Hotspur chief, 64, has received backing from a number of the game’s best-known figures, with some of his former Cherries players voicing their support in the Daily Echo on Friday.

Redknapp has established himself as one of the leading bosses in the country since cutting his teeth with Cherries.

Manager of the club from 1983 to 1992, he earned legendary status at Dean Court after a memorable spell that included winning the Division Three title in 1987.

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, Redknapp highlighted the importance of his Cherries experiences.

Redknapp said: “I had some fantastic times later at West Ham and Portsmouth but you have to go back to Bournemouth because that shaped me into the manager I am today.

“It’s a club that remains very close to my heart and I would never discourage any aspiring manager from working their way up from the bottom to the top.

“You get your hands dirty and in those days you covered aspects of managing a team that are unheard of today – and with little or no money.

“Life was very tough and footballers and managers at that level earned a pittance. But they are valuable life lessons and either make or break you.

“I always installed moral values in my children. When Jamie was a young boy I made him do a paper round and one day he got up late and I had to help him. I put one paper through this bloke’s door and he came out in a rage cursing about the time his paper had been delivered.

“He looks up and I’m standing there. He said: ‘Harry you’re the manager of Bournemouth, what are you doing delivering papers?’ I laughed and said I had to take a paper round to supplement my income!”

Redknapp added: “We trained in the local park sometimes and this old geezer on a bike used to get the raging hump. The day after we knocked out holders Man United from the FA Cup, and were the toast of the town, we trained in the park and he came along on his bike and locked us all in.

“The players and I had to climb over a 20-foot fence to get out. It’s funny when I think about it now but I can tell you at the time I had the raging hump, too.

“I used to say there is nothing wrong with good honest hard work and that’s the truth. You have to have some luck along the way but I know I wouldn’t be the manager I am today without those experiences.”