Fixture pile-up riles Redknapp

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp again slammed his side's "crazy" fixture list after guiding them to a crucial 2-1 win at Hull on Monday night.

The win lifted Spurs five points above the relegation and got their Carling Cup final week off to a fine start, but the Londoners also have the second leg of their UEFA Cup tie against Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday before Sunday's Wembley date with Manchester United.

Redknapp is not happy with the schedule and said: "I heard people criticising when we were on TV the other night about how I rested players. But this was the all-important game, not Shakhtar away. Whoever heard of playing a game Thursday night before playing a cup final at the weekend?"

He added: "People have been in cup finals over the years - you don't go and play Thursday night.

"You go away for two or three days to a hotel somewhere and rest and get ready for the cup.

"The whole fixture list is crazy. It's a crazy week. Monday, Thursday, Sunday before a showpiece game against Manchester United at Wembley!"

Jonathan Woodgate headed home Benoit Assou-Ekotto's cross with just four minutes remaining of a scrappy but entertaining contest between two struggling sides.

Spurs opened the scoring with a stunning strike from Aaron Lennon after 17 minutes but Hull responded 10 minutes later when Michael Turner scrambled in an equaliser.

Redknapp now intends to make "about 11" changes for Thursday's game and makes no apologies.

"Staying in the Premier League is more important than anything else," he said. "This was a massive step towards doing that."