The man who took a struggling Tottenham Hotspur to the Champions League knock-out rounds has undertaken, argueably, his toughest job to date and he’s hoping that a stellar win against Chelsea on Wednesday night will have convince the rest of the Premier League, and his own side, that Rangers can stay afloat in the England’s top flight.

Redknapp’s side was played off the park by Brendan Rodger’s Liverpool last Sunday at Loftus Road and his dejected side were a mess after the brutal defeat. But Harry worked his man management magic to galvanize his squad for Wednesday night’s encounter against their local rivals.

His inspiration? 

Redknapp truly believes his side can stay up.

“I convinced them [after the Liverpool game] that we can stay up. I think when I said that on Sunday you thought I was mad, but I genuinely did. I genuinely believe. I didn’t go home and think, ‘we’re doomed here, what have I done’, I just felt that we can turn it around.”

Communication, according to the Rangers gaffer, was the reason why his side capitulated against The Reds last weekend, and the same mistakes were not going to be made in the lead up to their midweek encounter.

“The message didn’t quite get through about how we wanted to play against Liverpool and I felt we were all over the place, some were pressing up high, some were dropping.

“We started the game like we didn’t know what was going on.”

“I spent a couple of hours [on Tuesday] going through things absolutely. I did shadowing yesterday, got everybody doing it so everybody knew exactly where they were.”

But the win in midweek will not only build the character and belief of his side, but will also send a ripple to those teams around him and potential transfer targets this January.

“When those other teams are sitting down tonight, even the teams with 20 points, they’ll sit down tonight and say ‘oh god, that isn’t very good tonight’.  I’ve been there. That sends a few shocks through everybody. We’ve got to make the most of that tonight.”

But still bringing players to Loftus Road, with Rangers in their current predicament, will be difficult this winter, and the club has already missed out on their first signing of the New Year because, in part, players wont believe in their cause.

“I lost a players today who I tried to sign who would have been my first signing and he probably looked at it and thought ‘you know Harry, I love you but I don’t think you’re going to stay up,’ so he’s gone to the Hammers. I was going to take Joe [Cole]. I like Joe, I think he’d have been good for me, good around the place, a great attitude so it’s not easy when you’re stuck down there.”

The three points and the big scalp, however, will have still sent a message to the League. If anyone can pull of this great escape with a side who have, until Wednesday night, failed to look like a team and more a mismatch of half footballers thrown together but two different regimes of anarchic management, Harry can.

The hearts and minds game is being won.  Now the battle on the pitch can commence.