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15th January 2025
11:19am GMT
Harry Redknapp has once again come out of retirement to take charge of Specsavers' Best Worst Team.
The legendary manager who has previously managed the likes of West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur returned to the dug out to oversee Somerset's Tunley Athletic as they looked to bounce back from a season of straight losses.
It comes after Redknapp previously enjoyed success with Specsavers’ former Best Worst Team, Cwm Albion - where he turned three years of defeats and a -191-goal difference into 50 goals, 7 wins and one of the greatest comebacks in grassroots football history.
Speaking to JOE about his return to management, Redknapp said: "It was great fun, I enjoyed it. It's different to anything I've been used to. Stood out on a pub pitch getting soaking wet or freezing cold. The facilities took me back to my roots really, when I started playing as a kid."
Tunley Athletic has suffered a turbulent period, losing all 26 of their games last season, finishing rock bottom of the Uhlsport Somerset County League with a goal difference of -137.
Earlier this year, Specsavers offered Tunley a once-in-a-lifetime chance at revival, including invaluable coaching and mentoring throughout the season from one of the premier league’s greatest ever managers.
"They were good lads, a good group of people," Redknapp commented. "They played for the fun of it, they didn't get paid they just turned up every week - lost every week, but still having fun and I enjoyed being a part of that."
"It's very different, you've got to adapt to what you're working with and get back to basics. When you're training and coaching, things like passing to each other they find difficult. I enjoyed just getting them to play without being too technical, play to their strengths and trying to get a result."
Redknapp, who helped establish the Hammers in the Premier League, nurturing academy players through to the senior team and went on to lead them to Intertoto Cup success, had his work cut out with Tunley.
His aims and aspirations for them were quite different to the dizzy heights of the Premier league.
He said: "They'd been getting beat every week so it was lovely to finally get a win or two on the board.
"It's all about making them feel good about themselves, in that respect it's no different to working with professionals. It's all about confidence and making them enjoy and feel good about themselves, that's what I set out to do."
One challenge that he had to overcome that was different to what he was used to was the facilities: "The pitches are unbelievable, that's something I haven't seen for 50 years! They were very basic, the wind was howling and the balls were blowing around, the rain was gashing in.
"But the will to win is still there, I still got as big a buzz out of winning that as I did anywhere."
Redknapp enjoyed going back to his roots with this project: "I was as 'at home' with them as I would have been managing Gareth Bale or Luka Modric. I enjoyed every minute of it."
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