Ledley King has been warned by manager Harry Redknapp that his future at Tottenham could be under threat unless he stops drinking.

Redknapp is ready to ban his squad from consuming alcohol next season — and would even consider testing his players to ensure they are dry.

The move came after Tottenham club captain King was bailed by police following an alleged assault outside a London night club in the early hours of Sunday.

King has apologised to Redknapp but is likely to be fined two weeks' wages — about £140,000 — following the alleged incident involving doorman Waheed Butt outside the Punk night club in Soho.

It is not the first time the England captain has been involved in similar controversy having celebrated Spurs Carling Cup win over Chelsea last season with one too many drinks.

The 28-year-old's current deal runs out in July next year and had hoped to start talks on a new deal after playing 27 games this season.

King is unable to train before matches and cannot play more than one game a week and Redknapp is concerned about the effect that drinking is having on his fitness.

The Spurs boss believes players should renounce alcohol during the season, and he will talk to his squad to spell out exactly what he now expects.

Redknapp insisted Spurs did not have a drink problem, but said: “My honest opinion is that footballers shouldn't drink. I know it's hard, but they get enough big money, they're role models to kids.

“At Tottenham we're involved in so many things in the community with under-privileged kids, and you've got to set an example.

“If they want to go away for four or five weeks at the end of the season and have a blow-out . . . but I think they should dedicate their lives to playing, and I don't think there's any place in the game for drink.

“I'm going to look at that at Tottenham. I've said it since I went to the club, and next year I'll definitely put in strong rules that drinking is a no-no.

“I wouldn't hesitate to test them when they come in. You wouldn't get these problems if they weren't having a drink. It would stop it completely.

“When I was manager of West Ham, I made the players' bar dry, and I feel the same way about Tottenham. We wouldn't get these problems if they weren't having a drink.

“We haven't got a drink problem at Tottenham. This has happened throughout time, and there will not be a manager in the country without experience of that problem.

“Every club in the country has had problems with different players at different times.”

Redknapp does not plan to take away the club captaincy from King, but admitted that the 28-year-old defender needed to “learn his lesson”.

The Spurs boss also conceded that English players were far more likely to succumb to alcohol than their counterparts from abroad. He added: “It's out of character for Ledley to be involved in anything. He is a lovely, shy, very quiet boy.
He's got to learn his lesson from that.

“I don't know exactly what's gone on, the police are involved, so you can't discuss what happened.

“Drinking is a problem in this country, in the main. Generally, the foreign players would not drink. But it is not a problem at Spurs. Lots of people have had problems at different clubs.”

Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner was fined after being photographed outside a nightclub last week and two of the more severe cases in recent history involved Gunners players.

Paul Merson made a tearful confession that he was an alcoholic and his former Arsenal skipper Tony Adams, another addict, spent 58 days in Chelmsford Prison after being caught driving by police while drunk.

Paul Gascoigne, the finest player of his generation, has also seen his life destroyed by the evils found at the bottom of a bottle. The problem became apparent for Redknapp at West Ham after a little known Norwegian Under 21 footballer claimed he did not want to join the club because he was shocked at the drinking culture that pervaded the English game.

Ragnvald Soma spent a week on trial at Upton Park but seven days appeared long enough for him to decide that too much booze was being consumed at West Ham.

“All the drinking at the English clubs doesn't tempt me,” Soma said at the time. “I'm not a teetotaller, and I can understand why a player wants a beer after a game. But when players are getting drunk and smelling of alcohol in training the next day, the whole team suffers.”

Redknapp banned drinking at Upton Park and Soma eventually signed in January 2001 for £800,000.

Now, he must hope that introducing prohibition at White Hart Lane can have a positive effect on King.