Harry Redknapp’s attachment to the south of England has been a running joke in football circles.
Throughout a long and eventful career, Tottenham Hotspur is the most northerly club on his playing or management CV.
After playing more than 100 games for Bournemouth, and managing the club after hanging up his boots, the one-time West Ham youngster also spent time in charge of Portsmouth (twice) and Southampton on the south coast of England.
So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that, when the 69-year-old was given a part-time consulting role with Australian club Central Coast Mariners, he referred to the A-League outfit as the ‘South Coast Mariners’.
The slip of the tongue came in an interview with TalkSport, during which he also revealed he would not be travelling to the club’s stadium in Gosford, New South Wales because “it’s a long way”.
Central Coast Mariners have an English coach in the form of Tony Walmsley and one English player, former Cambridge United forward Mitch Austin.
Two of the club’s squad members, Nick Montgomery and Cork’s Roy O’Donovan, have played Premier League football against Redknapp-managed teams during spells with Sheffield United and Sunderland respectively.
