Bremen no match for Redknapp's Tottenham
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
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Harry Redknapp was surprised to see a Tottenham Hotspur FC side "at 60-70% pace" defeat SV Werder Bremen with something to spare, Thomas Schaaf taking comfort in a few "positive things".
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Harry Redknapp seemed a little surprised at how easily SV Werder Bremen were overcome as a comfortable victory sent UEFA Champions League group stage debutants Tottenham Hotspur FC through to the last 16. Visiting coach Thomas Schaaf, meanwhile, was adamant that Bremen are still "capable of playing better football".
Harry Redknapp, Tottenham manager
It was difficult group when it was drawn even though they didn't offer a lot to be fair. They looked like they had lost a bit of heart. Overall we've done great to qualify and played ever so well. In the first half we looked like we were at 60 to 70% pace almost. We came in two up without really having to step up a gear. It was quite comfortable and we could have had four or five easily tonight. I'm delighted with the lads, they've done fantastic.
We want that top spot if we can get it. It looks like most of the big teams are going to finish top in their groups − Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United and whoever − so it's important we finish top. We've got to go to Twente and try to win the game. It'll be difficult because Twente are a good home side. It's nice to be able to go there having done what we have and give it a go without too much pressure.
Thomas Schaaf, Bremen coach
Of course, the result is not good, we wanted a different one, but there were also good things like the performance of Dominik Schmidt at left-back. Furthermore, we had a phase in the first half where we were quite solid in defence. We defended quite well, but we had lots of problems going forward because we were not able to create any pressure.
We have to keep on working, but at the moment we cannot make big improvements, only small ones. There were some positive things, but we still make too many mistakes at the back. We should not pick out any individuals when we come to the result, because we made too many errors as a team. We have to try to get out of this situation. We are still certain we have a team that is capable of playing better football.
