Soccer:Harry Redknapp feels playing in next season's Europa League will severely hamper Tottenham's chances of making it into the Champions League the following year. Spurs have enjoyed a glorious debut season in the Champions League this term, but it now looks likely that they will miss out on dining at Europe's top table next year.

Last weekend’s defeat at Chelsea saw Redknapp’s team slip to sixth and they could be 10 points behind fourth-place Manchester City by the time they face Blackpool at White Hart Lane tomorrow evening.

With four matches of the season remaining, it appears the best that Tottenham can hope for is to overcome tricky games at Liverpool and City to beat Kenny Dalglish’s team to fifth.

That would mean earning a place in the Europa League — a competition that Redknapp has never hidden his dislike of. The Spurs boss watched City play 12 games in the competition this year, hoping they would stay in it so Spurs could capitalise on the distraction and fatigue that playing in such a tournament brings, and pip them to fourth.

Redknapp knows his team would have to play 17 times to make the Europa League final and concedes that would have a huge impact on his long-term goal of bringing Champions League football to White Hart Lane on a regular basis.

“Teams who get into the Europa League want to get out of it,” Redknapp said. “Half of them put reserve teams out in the early stages and it’s difficult to play every Thursday and Sunday. It disrupts things. We didn’t have European football last year and we finished fourth. That was a big advantage to us.

“If there are teams around you in the Europa League, you want to keep them in it. If we were in it next year, and you were one of the other clubs around

us, you’d want us to stay in that competition because it takes its toll. I wanted Man City to stay in it this year because they were playing every Thursday night, slipping off to Azerbaijan to play a team out there. It’s unreal, but that’s how that competition is.”

To make matters worse for Redknapp, he believes that making the top four willbe much harder next year given the rejuvenation of Liverpool and the determination of Roberto Mancini’s team to establish themselves as one of the continent’s heavyweights.

He thinks that one or two additions to his squad would help fight off the other seven contenders that he thinks will be vying for a top-four finish next year.

“Man City are going to spend God knows what this summer now that they have Champions League football to offer their players. Arsenal are going to be in it, Chelsea too, and Man United. We did it last year but it was so tough. Liverpool are going to be right in it again so it’s getting tougher. Aston Villa and Everton have the players to come close too.

“We need to try and improve, juggle the squad about a bit and see if we can keep pushing and trying to do it.”

Spurs will have the chance to move back into fourth place if they beat Ian Holloway’s strugglers tomorrow. They then travel to Eastlands and Anfield before taking on Birmingham at home in the last match of the season.

Redknapp still maintains that his team have a chance of making the top four but concedes that they must win every match to do so.

“Our chance hasn’t gone, but we need four wins really,” he said. “We need to try and win them all and Manchester City lose a couple.”

Redknapp has moved quickly to deny he has a problem with Aaron Lennon.

Reports this morning suggested Spurs would listen to offers for the winger after the pair’s relationships reportedly broke down, but Redknapp insists that is not the case.

“Aaron has a good future here. I have never had a minute’s problem with him. He is as good as gold,” he said.