On this day: Harry Redknapp dismisses potential wage war at Portsmouth
On this day in 2006, Harry Redknapp promised: There’ll be no wage war here.
The Pompey boss insisted the mega money he was looking to shell out on players that summer would not provoke jealousy among his existing squad.
Back then Redknapp had been linked with a long list of big-money signings.
That meant him having to smash the club’s wage structure to land the stars he wanted to take the Blues forward.
Redknapp was prepared to pay Fenerbahce £10m and Nicolas Anelka £65,000-a-week to get the Frenchman’s signature.
Meanwhile, Sol Campbell was also high up his list of priorities.
Pompey’s top earners at the time, such as Pedro Mendes and Glen Johnson, were thought to earn around £30,000-a-week.
Having players on wages way in excess of others has been known to cause problems at clubs.
But Redknapp insisted his men were hungry for him to get in the names he had been chasing.
He told The News in 2006: ‘The lads want to see good players coming in.
‘They don’t want to be stuck at the bottom of the league next season.
‘They are looking for me to do something and take this club forward.
‘There won’t be any trouble here about money. What the players need to be doing is showing me they can play a part here next season, and they are working their socks off.
‘Half the squad needs improving – they know that, everyone knows that.
‘The players are not stupid. Dejan Stefanovic came out last week and said we needed another six players.
‘He’s not a fool, he’s a clever man. He knows what is needed and is entitled to express that opinion.
‘But there won’t be anyone here saying there’s problems with players coming in.’