Harry Redknapp

Harry Redknapp says Tottenham’s players must put Saturday’s harrowing events behind them and refocus on football as they return to White Hart Lane tomorrow night.

However, the Spurs boss is ready to omit some of his stars against Stoke if there are any concerns over their state of mind.

Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch during the weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham, receiving CPR and oxygen as the match was abandoned.

Wanderers’ scheduled Premier League match against Aston Villa tonight has consequently been postponed – and Stoke boss Tony Pulis offered to cancel the Potters’ visit to the Lane tomorrow.

However, Redknapp feels that his side need to get back on the field – and he believes that the good news about Muamba’s ongoing recovery has given his players a welcome boost as they prepare to return to the scene of Saturday’s traumatic events.

“Tony Pulis rang me early yesterday morning and said ‘if you feel you want to cancel the game, we’ll back you’, but I think we need to get on,” said Redknapp.

“Sometimes the best thing is to get back on the bike if you fall off, and we need to do that. We’ve got to get going again and we need to play tomorrow night now. We’re ready to play.

“We’ve got a tough game tomorrow, we’ve got to be ready to play. If we’re not we’re going to be in trouble with Stoke, that’s for sure.

“The players trained yesterday morning and they were fine. I’m sure they’ll be okay today and ready to play tomorrow.

“I think they’re all buoyed by the news that’s come through now. Things have obviously picked up and the news has been fantastic again, and everybody’s talking about it this morning, so it’s good.

“If there’s anybody today who doesn’t feel in the right mind to play then I wouldn’t play them, obviously. But if everybody’s okay then I’ll pick a team that I think is the best team to try to win the game.

“If we don’t win tomorrow then things are getting a bit tight. It’s closed up as it is, so we really need to make sure we pick up three points in a tough game.”

Emmanuel Adebayor remains “doubtful” for tomorrow’s match due to the hamstring injury which ruled him out of Saturday’s FA Cup tie, and Aaron Lennon is also out of action with the same injury.

Follow me on Twitter @BenPearceSpurs