ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City v Tottenham:HARRY REDKNAPP has accused Manchester City of adopting bullying tactics in the transfer market, claiming that they forced him to drop his interest in Craig Bellamy in January last year.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager, who takes his team to Eastlands tonight for what amounts to a showdown for the final Champions League berth, said he wanted to sign Bellamy from West Ham United at the same time as taking Wilson Palacios from Wigan Athletic. According to Redknapp, however, City, who also wanted Bellamy, issued a threat that forced him to back off.

“They came in and said: ‘If you don’t drop out of Bellamy, we’ll sign Palacios as well and you won’t get either of them’,” Redknapp said. “So we had no choice, really. They just said: ‘We’ll blow you out of the water.’ Did they want Palacios? Not really, I don’t think, no. They were half-interested. What can you do? It’s difficult. You’ve got a difficult decision, haven’t you? And then, obviously, the money that they offered Bellamy, we couldn’t compete with anyway.”

Redknapp was asked whether City’s tactics had amounted to reasonable behaviour? “It’s reasonable . . . they can do it, can’t they?” he said. “They’ve got the clout to do that; they can do it if they want somebody.”

Redknapp predicted City would sign another batch of star names this summer, regardless of whether they win the battle to enter Europe’s elite competition.

“People talk about players wanting Champions League football . . . If you offer them £200,000 a week, I don’t think they’ll worry about the Champions League too much,” he said. “They know they will get in the Champions League eventually. That is the difference in what they can do.

“With the players that people tell me they’re trying to bring in over the summer, they’re going to put a team together that could win the championship. They probably will win it. If you bring enough world-class players in, you’re going to have a chance.”

Redknapp feels Tottenham have overachieved this season but City, with their bottomless pockets and designs on dominating the game, are a different proposition. “For sure, there is more pressure on them,” Redknapp said.

“If you had asked me at the start of the season who the top five would be, I’d have put Liverpool in there and City.”

Roberto Mancini denied all the pressure was on City, even though he said tonight’s game was a chance to “change history” at a club which has played in the European Cup only once – in 1968 – -and has never qualified for the Champions League.

“All the players have worked for this target,” City’s manager said. “I know this is an important moment for the club. We are trying to change the history of the club. It is important for me because I have worked here for five months. I can build a good future here.

“I can see how much people here want this . . . But I don’t think the players have pressure at this moment. We have a great chance to finish in fourth position and it’s important we do. It is a chance to make history. We have worked very hard for this . . . We want to change the history of the club.”

Mancini, whose team trail Tottenham by a point, is likely to keep faith with Patrick Vieira in midfield even if Gareth Barry passes a fitness test. Victory will leave City needing to win at West Ham on Sunday to confirm their position among Europe’s elite, which does not create much room for any other topic in Mancini’s mind.

There is no discussion of potential summer targets – the latest links are for Benfica duo Angel Di Maria and David Luiz – just a total focus on the task ahead, knowing Tottenham will be going through exactly the same process.

Redknapp revealed that, in different circumstances, Vieira, might have lined up for Tottenham. “Patrick would have come here at the start of the season,” he said.

Redknapp has demanded that Jermain Defoe raise his game. The striker has scored only four times in his past 14 games.

“We need a performance from him,” Redknapp said. “He’s still got a lot to play for. He’s got to try and get into that England squad because there’s no certainties with any of the strikers, apart from Wayne Rooney.”

Redknapp must wait to see if captain Ledley King feels capable of putting his knee through two games in five days and whether goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes can shake off a muscle problem in time.

King, who hardly trains because of his long-standing knee problem, was expected to train on Tuesday morning but Redknapp will leave the final decision about playing to the defender.

“We’ve got to see if he recovers from the weekend,” added Redknapp. “I leave it to Ledley to see how he feels.

“If he is fit for playing, he will tell me, if he is not quite right, he will tell me. Only he knows how his knee is feeling.

“It is a case of wait and see with Gomes. He did a muscle at the top of his leg against Bolton on Saturday. He did not train yesterday and we will see how he is today.”

Venue: City of Manchester Stadium Kick-off: Tonight, 8pm On TV: Sky Sports 2

Guardian Service