Lennon makes an early exit

Posted Saturday, October 24, 2009 by PA

Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon risked infuriating Harry Redknapp by taking himself off during the Barclays Premier League defeat to Stoke after his manager asked him to carry on.

Redknapp had already used three substitutes at White Hart Lane when Lennon picked up the injury 14 minutes from full-time and eventually headed down the tunnel after telling the bench more than once that he could not continue due to an ankle injury.

The England winger, with Fabio Capello watching the match in the stands, left the ground in a protective boot on his left foot.

"I was hoping he could stay on but he couldn't and suddenly we were down to 10 men," Redknapp said. "We're not sure what the problem is. He just said he couldn't carry on and that was that.

"I didn't give him a nudge - I just said to him we would only have 10 men and could he play on, but he said his ankle was too sore.

"I don't want to say any more, I don't want to cause an issue. It's not about England - he's got big games coming up for Tottenham."

Lennon's injury was caused by Glenn Whelan, who grabbed the Stoke winner four minutes from the end when he fired into the top corner after Ricardo Fuller had held the ball up and tricked Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

"Ricardo's pulled a genie out of the bag again," said Stoke boss Tony Pulis. "That was terrific and Glenn finished it with aplomb."

Spurs could have gone top, albeit briefly, with victory but Stoke totally ruined Redknapp's first anniversary at White Hart Lane - and they did it with their first-choice goalkeeper pulling out 20 minutes before kick-out.

With Thomas Sorensen ill, Steve Simonsen stepped in and denied Lennon, Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane, while James Beattie cleared off the line twice and Niko Kranjcar struck the post.

"We had so many chances, the keeper's made great saves, they've kicked shots off the line and they've only had one shot worth talking about," Redknapp said.

Pulis, a player under Redknapp at Bournemouth, said: "Thomas had the flu, or he felt very poorly. He didn't feel 110% and we had Simo there.

"With Steve, we was called on 20 minutes before the game and that was a bonus because he didn't have time to worry about it."

Pulis insisted that avoiding relegation was his main priority, despite Stoke's impressive results.

He said: "It was probably our best result because we were playing against a top, top side. They have all the ammo you need to win games and they will still probably have a great season.

"For this football club, we have to be in the Premier League for three years before we push on. We are still living in portacabins at the training ground. We're building something that will cost the chairman #7million to #8million.

"So anywhere in the Premier League will do - and the following season the same. If we have that stability we can push on because it is in such a good catchment area."