"I'm bitterly disappointed. … I thought they played fantastic, and we really were a shadow of ourselves ... It's been a great season and I've been delighted with the performances of the players all season, but you always want to win, that's the disappointment."

While Sunday's capitulation at Burnley was a surprise, Harry Redknapp was at least able to put the defeat in perspective. Just over a year and a half ago, the manager took over a team mired in the relegation zone. In the penultimate game of this season at Eastlands, Spurs secured Champions League qualification for the first time on the back of a great performance against a Man. City side chasing the same prize. Redknapp deserves a huge amount of credit, a fact that has already been recognized in his being crowned Barclay's Manager of the Season. The statistics make impressive reading: a top four finish for the first time since 1989/90; the most wins by the team since the inception of the Premier League; and a club record haul of 70 Premier League points.

Raw numbers alone, however, are inadequate to describe the manner in which success was achieved. The crunch match against Man. City exemplified the qualities that the team as a whole and key players in particular have displayed this season - the skill of Gomes in goal; the consistency of King and Dawson at the heart of the defence; the pace of Bale and the intelligence of Modric in midfield; and the endeavor of Crouch up front.

Spurs also have players due to return from injury or from loan spells at other clubs, including Kranjcar, Corluka, Cudicini, Hutton, O'Hara, Keane and - perhaps most significantly of all - Jonathan Woodgate. Woodgate is currently in Australia, having failed to find a solution to his ongoing injury problems in the USA. Redknapp has noted that "he is at a very low point in his life" and speculation has even arisen that Woodgate's playing days might be over. If that were to be the case, it would be a tragedy for a player who possesses such talent and who is such a key member of the Tottenham squad.

The manager has already expressed his satisfaction with the personnel at his disposal, but the possibility of substantial income through the Champions League will presumably lead to one or two new faces at White Hart Lane during the summer. The services of the Brazilian midfielder, Sandro, have already been secured and Spurs have been linked with Joe Cole, Micah Richards and Yossi Benayoun. It also did not go unnoticed how warmly City's Craig Bellamy congratulated Redknapp after his team's defeat. Players of this caliber would be welcome additions, since getting to the group stages of the Champions League involves a qualifying round that could include the likes of Sevilla, Sampdoria, Werder Bremen or Martin Jol's Ajax. A tricky prospect perhaps, but one for which the Spurs fans can hardly wait.