Harry Redknapp dismissed any notion that he was about to leave Tottenham after odds tumbled on him becoming the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season.

Bookmakers slashed odds on Redknapp, who lives in Sandbanks, leaving White Hart Lane from 50-1 to evens at one point – despite the manager having led Tottenham to their best start for 50 years.

After taking a training session with the first team before leaving for today’s Barclays Premier League match against Bolton a bewildered Redknapp laughed off the rumours.

He said: “I’m definitely not leaving. It’s absolute nonsense. Absolute rubbish.

“I couldn’t be happier than I am here. There’s not a chance of that happening. I love it here and I have no intention of leaving. It couldn’t have gone better for me.”

Internet sites were awash with speculation, some suggesting Redknapp, who is a former manager of AFC Bournemouth, could be on his way back to Portsmouth for a third time in a bid to rescue the club which has gone seven matches without recording a point this season and which this week was unable to pay some of its players.

The Portsmouth situation was compounded when new Arab owner Sulaiman Al Fahim, who has promised a £50 million cash injection into the club, was taken to hospital with kidney stones.

Redknapp, whose Spurs side have won five of their first seven league matches this season, said: “I left Portsmouth more than a year ago. Hopefully, Portsmouth will get sorted out. I don’t know where people dream these stories up from.

“I just hope the guy who is in hospital recovers and puts his money in and Portsmouth will be fine.

“It’s been a difficult year for them.

“They’ve sold £80 million worth of players and it’s sad to see them in that situation.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe explained the odds tumbling, saying: “It is probably a bandwagon effect as usual, based on unsubstantiated gossip, but in volatile markets of this nature you can’t afford to take a chance and we are being inundated with calls from punters wanting to bet that Harry will be the first to go.”