LONDON, Mar 5 – Harry Redknapp has backed Aaron Lennon for an England recall after the winger scored two goals in Tottenham's demolition of Middlesbrough.
England coach Fabio Capello was at White Hart Lane to witness Wednesday’s 4-0 win and will be considering the former Leeds man for upcoming fixtures against Slovakia and Ukraine.
"He (Capello) saw him Sunday at Wembley and tonight he must look at him and he must have a good chance of getting in the next squad," Redknapp suggested.
"Aaron is in fantastic form, and every time he got the ball you felt something was going to happen. The little fella’s absolutely flying at the moment."
"He was tired on Sunday (after the League Cup final), but his little legs were still going tonight," the former Portsmouth manager said.
Lennon tormented ‘Boro throughout and capped off the display with the third and fourth goals in the Lillywhites’ 4-0 win.
Striker Robbie Keane scored his first goal since returning from Liverpool in January to give Spurs the lead and Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko’s fourth goal of the league campaign completed the rout.
Redknapp claimed there was more to come from the in-form winger.
"He’s learning the game – he’s only a kid but he’s got all the equipment. His final ball is still the thing he needs to improve, but it’s certainly getting better," he said.
"He needs people to work with him and work on his game — and he is responding," the ex-West Ham boss added.
The victory lifts Spurs to the relative comfort of 13th in the league and although some more optimistic fans might be eyeing a European spot, the manager remained cautious.
"We’re in good form, that’s ten points in the last five games and if you average two points a game then you’d be flying. But it’s all still very tight," said Redknapp, who believes three more wins will see his team safe.
"We’ve got some massive games coming up, there’s three away games and Chelsea at home. There’s nothing between the five or six teams above us now, it’s so close.
"Even Fulham on 34 points will be looking over their shoulders, there’s about 12 teams in it (the relegation battle) still. We’ve got a long way to go but we’re doing OK."
In contrast, opposing manager Gareth Southgate was downcast after seeing his team inch themselves closer to the relegation trap-door.
His ‘Boro team now sit just one place above the bottom and two points adrift in the drop zone with ten games to play.
"We came here in good spirits but were we too buoyant? It’s a big blow but we’ve had plenty of those, it’s how we respond now.
"We’ve got to make sure we don’t get emotionally too carried away, there’s a lot of football still to be played," the former England player said.
The beleaguered boss demanded his team return to the basics and pick up their dreadful away league form.
"We’ll have to get some points away and that’s something we’ve got to work on. We’ve lost our last seven in the league away from home, that’s not just bad luck, it’s a habit.
"The basis of our good run of late is that we have been difficult to break down showing hard work and discipline."
The former Aston Villa defender promised the long-suffering visiting fans that his players would strive to make up for their wasted journey.
"We have to apologise to our fans here," he said. "To send them away without even a goal to celebrate, we owe them a performance."