A hugely proud Harry Redknapp admitted he expected Tottenham to lose once Sunday’s Carling Cup final went to penalties.
Spurs suffered the ultimate heartache after holding United to a goalless scoreline for 120 minutes, losing 4-1 on penalties as Jamie O’Hara and David Bentley both missed.
Ryan Giggs, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Anderson all scored for United, and Redknapp admitted he never fancied his penalty takers.
“I thought we were terrific, our performance was excellent and it came down to a lottery in the end with penalties,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports after the game.
“I’ve got to be honest, I looked at us and I wasn’t very confident about our penalty takers really.
“You looked at them and they had some really confident takers but that’s how it goes.
"David had the bottle to take it but unfortunately didn't score. It was a poor penalty for a player who can strike a ball as well as he can. He's a great striker, but that's one of those things.
"Jamie's got a great left foot and was the first to volunteer for one. He fancied one. Unfortunately, the goalkeeper made a good save.
"He left here in tears last year. He feels for the club, is part of the club. I've been impressed with him as a player and a person, a terrific fella and great lad, and I was pleased that he played a part in the day.
“Overall they couldn’t beat us in 120 minutes and we didn’t deserve to lose.”
Spurs saw Jermaine Jenas, Aaron Lennon and Michael Dawson all limp off with cramp, and Redknapp admits the final could take its toll on Tottenham's relegation fight.
“We had fatigue, cramp, pulled muscles. Middlesbrough must have been watching this and loving every moment of it.”