Niko Kranjcar: The truth is I had a love-hate relationship with Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth, Spurs and QPR

Niko Kranjcar has revealed he shared a ‘love-hate relationship’ with Harry Redknapp.
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The cultured Croat served under Redknapp at Pompey, Spurs and QPR during his playing days in England.

It was an association often joked about, with Kranjcar perceived to be a favourite son of his ex-manager along with Peter Crouch.

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And while Kranjcar considers Redknapp one of the finest he worked for, there were many periods when he was disillusioned with his ex-manager.

‘I cannot say Harry Redknapp was the best manager I had – you forget my dad was my manager for Croatia! I would have to say dad was the best because I still must have Christmas, New Year and birthdays with him,’ he told Played Up Pompey Three.

‘But Harry was one of the best, I certainly haven’t had many others apart from him. He had a real strength in recruiting great players, he just knew who to buy, while then allowing them to show their quality.

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‘Harry was able to get the best out of his signings, recognising how they could bring another dimension to his team, which was a real talent.

Niko Kranjcar admits he had a 'love-hate relationship' with Harry Redknapp, despite working with him at three different clubs. Picture: Jonathan BradyNiko Kranjcar admits he had a 'love-hate relationship' with Harry Redknapp, despite working with him at three different clubs. Picture: Jonathan Brady
Niko Kranjcar admits he had a 'love-hate relationship' with Harry Redknapp, despite working with him at three different clubs. Picture: Jonathan Brady

‘Is he a good man manager? I think we would all say yes and no. The majority of the time he understood the ability a player possesses, while had empathy when somebody wanted time off.

‘On the other hand, when you’re not playing, no-one likes a manager who doesn’t put them into the team. We all want to play, every single minute, if you are not then no manager is good for you, end of.

‘We actually had a love-hate relationship throughout our career.

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‘There were times in my first season when I wasn’t in Pompey’s squad, the same thing happened at Spurs, the same happened at QPR, although I guess I was his lucky charm.

Niko Kranjcar celebrates with team-mate Papa Bouba Diop following Pompey's FA Cup final win in 2008. Picture: Joe PeplerNiko Kranjcar celebrates with team-mate Papa Bouba Diop following Pompey's FA Cup final win in 2008. Picture: Joe Pepler
Niko Kranjcar celebrates with team-mate Papa Bouba Diop following Pompey's FA Cup final win in 2008. Picture: Joe Pepler

‘He recruited me for three English clubs and, looking at his greatest achievements as manager, I was there with him.

‘With Pompey it was winning the FA Cup, at Spurs I was an important part of reaching the Champions League in my first season – and I was a very important part of QPR getting promotion through the Championship play-offs in May 2014.

‘I suppose I justified him bringing me along.

‘He was always a great judge of character when signing people, he knew what he was going to get. You cannot take it away from him, he made Pompey relevant on the world stage by signing so many wonderful players and achieving what he did in that 2007-08 season.

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‘Even in the year before, we were one goal away from playing in Europe, having been in the top four at the start of December.

‘Then things at the top changed at Fratton Park, you could sense something was happening, now it was going to be a bit different, clearly the club might need to sell players in order to exist.

‘Suddenly the goals were changing, players like Sulley Muntari and Lassana Diarra were leaving and it got harder and harder. When Harry quit to become Spurs manager, I’d been out injured for two months with damaged ankle ligaments sustained during a Croatia friendly.

‘I had just come through my first training session, working towards full fitness, and he was jokingly asking “Would you play against Fulham this Sunday?”. Then he was gone.

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‘That meant his assistant, Tony Adams, was initially put in caretaker charge for that 1-1 draw against Roy Hodgson’s side, which saw me come off the bench for the final six minutes. ‘Afterwards, he was appointed permanent boss, but unfortunately results didn’t go his way during three-and-a-half months at Pompey’s helm.

‘I found Adams quite different as a manager compared to how he was during his playing days.

‘As a centre-half for Arsenal and England, he would shout at people, push them around, make them do their jobs – yet, as manager, he tried to be polite, there wasn’t an intensity.

‘Adams was definitely giving the right pointers, telling us what to do, but it was never “What are you doing? We lost the game, you shouldn’t have done this or that”. It was much calmer than you would expect.

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‘He’s a great guy, though, we all knew him as he had been Harry’s assistant for two years before his promotion. No-one has a bad word to say about him.’

Niko Kranjcar made 100 appearances for Pompey and scored 12 times from August 2006 until September 2009.

For player-autographed copies, with the signatures of Benjani, Richard Hughes, Lee Bradbury or Dave Munks, email [email protected]

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