Keen to maximise the appeal of the colourful cockney coach, Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth has moved to clarify that Redknapp, who has been signed up as a consultant, will head to Gosford in a visit which he believes will “galvanise everybody at the club”.
The 69 year-old former West Ham, Tottenham, Southampton and Portsmouth coach – who was at the helm with Jordan in their recent 5-1 loss to Australia – seemed to rule out another visit on talk SPORT, he said: "No, no, I won't be going. It's a long way
"Thirty-odd hours on a plane. I came home the other week and it took me a week to recover. It's a long way but it's a fantastic country when you get there."
Redknapp, who is currently working with Derby County as technical director, also got his geography askew, referring to the club as the South Coast Mariners, with Charlesworth quipping “We’ll probably just ask Harry to refer to the club as the Mariners from now on.”
Charlesworth also said: “It’s been agreed that will come out in October (so long as he is not coaching a national team at the time) and having him on the ground in Australia will have a really positive affect on everybody from the coach to the players and all the way through the club to the office staff.
“He’s one of the biggest brands and characters in global football … if he says something whether humorous or not people write about him.
“That’s what we need and what the A-league needs. For us to have an ex-EPL manager working with us in this way has created news and interest.”
Charlesworth expects to get plenty of bang for his buck from Redknapp as he sets about revamping and reviving a club which lurched to the A-League wooden spoon this season with just three wins from 27 games.
“When he comes over, I am expecting him to be very hands-on in everything he does,” he added.
“We want him to be involved on every level and every aspect of the business as much as possible in the days and weeks that he is involved with the club.”
