According to Alasdair Gold of football.london, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp recently recalled his dismissal from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 during an interview on "The Jeff Stelling Show." He believes that chairman Daniel Levy and owner Joe Lewis called him twice about Robbie Keane's playing time, and both calls made him realize his position was precarious.

Redknapp managed Tottenham Hotspur for four years. During that period, the team had one of the strongest squads in recent memory, featuring players such as Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart, Ledley King, Aaron Lennon, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Jermain Defoe, and Robbie Keane.

In his final year at Tottenham Hotspur, Redknapp was linked with the England national team manager position. He acknowledged at the time that he would be willing to leave Tottenham if offered the England job. Meanwhile, the team's performance began to decline. In June 2012, with one year remaining on his contract, Redknapp was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur.

The now 79-year-old Redknapp believes that the two calls from Levy and Lewis about Keane's playing time were an early warning sign that his departure was imminent.

Redknapp stated on "The Jeff Stelling Show," scheduled to air in late October: "We were second in the league at the time, and the team was performing brilliantly. I had never met Joe Lewis. Joe is Tottenham's owner; he's the one who really holds the power. Daniel handles the club's day-to-day affairs, but Joe makes the final decisions, and I had never met him before."

"Then one Friday, I received a call while I was driving to Stansted Airport. We were preparing to play at Old Trafford."

"The call was from Daniel. He had never called me on a Friday before, nor had he ever interfered with my work. To be honest, Daniel was always very good to me. I never had any issues with Daniel Levy. Although we rarely communicate now, I have to say he was genuinely good to me back then."

"That day, I was driving to Stansted Airport, preparing for the match at Old Trafford. We were in second place in the league at the time, playing brilliantly."

"Daniel called and asked me: 'Harry, who will you play up front tomorrow?' We had some injured players at that time, and I answered: 'Robbie Keane.'"

"He asked: 'Robbie Keane?' I said: 'Yes, why?'"

"He said: 'Oh, I'm a bit surprised. Have you considered asking Rafael van der Vaart who he'd like to partner with?'"

"I answered: 'Daniel, what does van der Vaart have to do with it? I decide the team lineup, not van der Vaart.'"

"He said: 'I just thought it might be interesting to ask him.'"

"I said: 'No, I don't think so. I'm not interested in that; I'll play Robbie.'"

Redknapp continued: "That night, after I arrived at my hotel in Manchester, my phone rang again. This time it was Ivana, Joe Lewis's secretary."

"I said: 'Hello, Ivana.' She said: 'Joe wants to speak with you.' I replied: 'Of course.'"

"Joe picked up the phone and said: 'Hello, Harry, how are you?' I said: 'I'm fine, Joe.'"

"He said: 'I really like our front line: Lennon, Pavlyuchenko, van der Vaart, Gareth Bale.' I replied: 'Yes, Joe, our front line is very good.'"

"Then he said: 'Robbie Keane is useless, isn't he?' I replied: 'Joe, that's just your opinion, isn't it?'"

"He said: 'He doesn't even understand the offside rule.' I said: 'I think he does, Joe. He's scored plenty of goals.'"

"Then he said: 'I'm telling you, if he plays tomorrow, I won't even watch the broadcast.' I replied: 'That's your choice, Joe.'"

"At that moment, I realized something was wrong. It was past Christmas by then, and I thought: 'I might be in trouble now.'"

"As it turned out, I still played Robbie the next day. Daniel asked me again: 'Why didn't you ask van der Vaart who he'd like to partner with?' My answer was exactly the same as before."

"But I already knew by then that if the team didn't perform well, even the smallest mistake would get me sacked."

"To be honest, I think Daniel was actually sad to see me go. I think he may have fought to keep me. Of course, I can't be sure, but Daniel and I never had a real falling out. Clearly, Joe had strong opinions about me playing Robbie Keane."

Currently, Tottenham Hotspur, under Roberto De Zerbi's management, sits near the bottom of the Premier League table after five games this season. However, Redknapp believes the Italian manager can gradually lead the team out of its difficulties.

The former Portsmouth and West Ham United manager said: "I'm not sure what to say. I think they could finish in the top four, top five, or top six this season. I really do believe they will bounce back and regain their form. Given the players they have, they should."

"But being in 17th place, you know, that's shocking. They have a good manager and good players. Clearly, something is wrong within the team, but I don't know what the specific issue is. And they've also brought in quite a few new players."

"Last season and the season before, their quality should have allowed them to finish better than they ultimately did. They should have performed better, no doubt about it. They have enough good players to compete for European qualification."

"As I heard someone say the other day, some of the players they bought couldn't even play for their previous clubs. These aren't players who regularly won titles, are they? One or two of them have even been relegated. And the players already at Tottenham Hotspur haven't been particularly impressive either."

"That said, you'd still expect Tottenham Hotspur to finish in the top six. I still believe my prediction that they'll finish in the top six will prove correct by the end of the season. But they need to turn it around soon."

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