Redknapp: Keeping QPR up will be biggest challenge (From Bournemouth Echo)

Redknapp: Keeping QPR up will be biggest challenge

7:00am Tuesday 27th November 2012 in Sport

HARRY Redknapp has admitted trying to keep QPR in the Barclays Premier League will be his toughest challenge yet.

The former Cherries boss has taken over a side rooted to the foot of the table, with just four points from 13 games and without a win all season.

He has saved Portsmouth from relegation and took a Tottenham side from bottom of the table to the Champions League the following season.

But Redknapp, who had been working in an advisory role at Goldsands Stadium before boss Eddie Howe’s return, said: “We mustn’t kid ourselves, this is much tougher that those two jobs in my opinion, but I’m optimistic we can pull it off.

“I want to be successful here, really badly. I want to keep this team in the Premier League.

“If the players try as hard as I am going to try we’ll be successful.”

Redknapp, who lives in Sandbanks, confirmed a deal was being done to bring in long-time assistants Joe Jordan and Kevin Bond, another former Cherries boss, to assist him.

And he warned the players he would not tolerate a lack of effort.

“We’ve got to do better to give ourselves any chance of getting out of this mess,” he said.

“I need 11 people with ability to put effort in. If they don’t they’re not going to play and I’ll get 11 people who do. I’ve got no time for people who lose the ball and stand there with hands in the air.”

On the team spirit, he added: “The lads I met yesterday were all upbeat. They’ve got to realise they are in this position because they haven’t really performed to their capabilities and they’ve got to do better.

“The players have to take responsibility for performances, they’ve got to up their performance level and get us out of trouble.”

Redknapp accepted there would be no “wholesale spending” in the transfer window after the club recruited extensively during the summer, but admitted they were very short up front.

Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson are both long-term injury victims and the new boss said: “We are not overloaded with strikers here. That’s certainly an area we are short in.”

On the possibility of bring in David Beckham, he said: “I got a lovely text from David the other night, just wishing me well here.

“To have him at any football club would be a great influence on the club, but we’ve not discussed anything.”

Redknapp insisted there would be no personality clashes with Adel Taarabt, whom he sold while manager of Tottenham.

“He wasn’t a player I wanted to sell,” he said. “He couldn’t get in the team at Tottenham.

“I always felt he had the ability to become a top player. I’ve got to get the best out of him.”