Redknapp doesn't fear England aggro

Harry Redknapp has hinted he is ready for the "aggravation" of the England job after becoming an even firmer favourite to succeed Fabio Capello.

Redknapp saw his odds shorten further on Sunday when Football Association general secretary Alex Horne revealed the Tottenham boss would be on a "not very long" long list for the position when it becomes vacant. That is set to happen in a year and a half at the latest, when Capello's contract expires.

Redknapp insists that as long as the pros of being a national team boss outweigh the cons, it is worth it, and he said: "Do I need the aggravation? It's aggravation managing Tottenham, isn't it? It's what you get with the job. You either enjoy it and get on with it or you turn it in and walk the dogs and play golf."

He added: "That's my choice, isn't it? And while I enjoy it, you keep going."

Spurs and England striker Peter Crouch declared Redknapp's elevation to England boss was "inevitable" but his manager disagreed.

The clamour for him will increase if Tottenham finish top of Champions League Group A after Tuesday night's game at FC Twente.

Redknapp said: "To win the group would be a good achievement for us. That's really what we'd love to do now and then we can put this to bed until the next round and when the draw comes up see what we get from there."

Crouch added: "We all know that we can nick some big teams if we finish second. It gives us more of a chance if we finish top of the group so we will be going all out to try and do that."

Even if Spurs do finish second behind Inter Milan, Crouch insists they have little to fear.

He said: "There is no one that we should be wary of at all although, saying that, having watched Barcelona, perhaps we should be a little bit cautious. But we shouldn't be too frightened. We have performed very well against top opposition."