As a horseracing fan, Harry Redknapp is familiar with the art of gambling, but the Tottenham manager may have taken too great a risk ahead of tomorrow's trip to Manchester United in the FA Cup.

The Spurs training ground at Chigwell will have been an interesting place to be this morning.

Redknapp's admission that he will field his weakest team at Old Trafford has left many wondering whether they have any future at Spurs.

When the team-sheet for tomorrow's fourth-round tie is pinned up, those included in what has been termed 'Harry's Bomb Squad' by club insiders will know their days are numbered.

The manager's message since the transfer window opened has been clear: his players are just not up to the task. He was at it again after the lucky aggregate win over Burnley in the Carling Cup in midweek.

There was, claimed Redknapp, a lack of "mental and physical strength to be successful".

In recent weeks, the attitude of both David Bentley and Gareth Bale has been questioned by the boss in what have become frequent attacks on the quality of his players.

Redknapp is far too smart to make such outspoken remarks without having considered their implications beforehand.

But it is a dangerous game to play. If his aim was to persuade chairman Daniel Levy to give him transfer money, he has been successful to a point.

Jermain Defoe and Wilson Palacios have moved to White Hart Lane for a combined total of almost £30million. Both are the kind of "terrific" players that Redknapp wants in his team.

But he has missed out on Craig Bellamy and has been thwarted in his attempts to sign a new goalkeeper.

The 61-year-old may well have to rely on what he has left for the remainder of the season in what is going to be a fight against relegation.

His aim may by simply to inspire his underachievers on to greater things. The definition of reverse psychology states that it is "a technique for convincing a person that they will not succeed in hope that it will spur them to succeed; a technique employing pessimism in order to effect a positive outcome".

Old Trafford is not the best place to go - even if United have injuries problems of their own - in a pessimistic mood.

If his team get thumped, Redknapp will claim to be relieved he is out of the competition, can concentrate on League survival and look forward to the Carling Cup Final.

The damage to his players will be lasting. So who is likely to be in the firing line?

Bentley, for sure. He arrived from Blackburn in the summer carrying a £15m price tag but his career had flatterred to deceive.

Ear-marked as the next David Beckham, there is no doubt that he has the ability as he showed with his wonder-goal against Arsenal in Redknapp's second game in charge back in October.

But he is far too inconsistent. He is also very fragile and his omission from the England team for the World Cup qualifiers in Andorra and Croatia last September is known to have hit him hard.

He is almost certain to start tomorrow but has an awful lot to prove. Bale (below) is another with a weighty reputation that has not been justified.

He has had a lot or problems with injury since he arrived from Southampton two years ago and has been played at both left-back and left midfield.

And yet, United also wanted to sign him before he moved to White Hart Lane after he was recommended to Sir Alex Ferguson by Bale's Welsh international colleague Ryan Giggs.

Chris Gunter, Tom Huddlestone, and Ben Alnwick - all of whom were on duty at Turf Moor - will be back again as well.

Then there is Ricardo Rocha and Giovani Dos Santos, the former Barcelona winger who has not had a look-in under Redknapp.

England internationals Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Jenas - who is no longer the vice-captain - do not seem to have convinced Redknapp either and both will expect some kind of run out if they are fit.

Then, of course, there is Darren Bent. Injury prevented him playing at Burnley, yet his confidence will be so low after his miss at the end of the game against Portsmouth that playing in front of 76,000 fans is probably the last place he wants to be.

Redknapp claimed last weekend that his "missus" could have scored the chance that was presented to Bent. If he really wants to lose tomorrow, maybe Sandra should be one of those named in the starting XI.