Last updated 07:38, Friday, 14 November 2008

GOAL-scoring legend Jimmy Greaves once famously said: “Football is a funny old game” – and he was right.

Spurs were dead and buried under Juande Ramos but his departure and the ‘pub spirit’, as it’s been described by star striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, brought to White Hart Lane by Harry Redknapp has transformed the club completely.

I never thought Spurs would end up in a scrap for survival but the confidence given to the players has changed their fortunes around tenfold.

Football is a confidence game and players thrive on that feeling that they are a good player.

That is definitely where Redknapp has got it right. Every Tottenham player who has been interviewed in the national press has said the same thing, that Redknapp tells them they are quality players, and they are now beginning to believe it.

At Workington Reds some of the same issues could be addressed.

I’m by no means saying change the manager, because times are hard at Borough Park right now and Darren is working hard behind the scenes to bring in players within the budget available to him.

The gaffer this week reiterated the fact that he has a young squad, which I worked out has an average age of below 24.

He said: “Some of my players are young, they thrive on confidence and sometimes they are not getting it from the crowd, despite us doing our best to get them feeling good before a game.”

In particular Darren was on about 19-year-old Dan Robinson. The young forward is yet to score for Workington and has had some great chances to end his drought. It seems that every game he plays he’s being scrutinised more than the rest.

In the last game against Farsley Celtic no-one was at their best but more was made of Dan missing from inside the box than Craig Johnston’s red card or Phil McLuckie’s lunge to concede the penalty.

Darren added that the abuse Dan is getting right now is character building and in the long run will make him a stronger player but also said: “It isn’t nice when the fans get on your back. You can feel the bad vibes when you are playing and it increases the pressure on you to perform.

“Dan is going through that at the moment and in training during the week we see a different side to the lad. He’s sharp and is a good player. The fans have yet to see the best of him, but in order for them to see the real Dan Robinson they need to get off his back and show him some support.”