Harry Redknapp has come to the defence of Sir Trevor Brooking and said that young English players are not making it to the top because they are lazy and obsessed with money. Redknapp, who became the manager of Tottenham Hotspur last month, believes that the buck should stop with young players, not Brooking, the FA's director of football development.

“Young players walk into clubs and act like superstars, but they have done nothing, they have not made the grade,” Redknapp said. “They have to work at their game. How much do they want it? How hard do they want to work? Too many of them want to have big cars before they have even made it.”

Lord Mawhinney, the chairman of the Football League, stopped just short of demanding Brooking's dismissal on Thursday after the former West Ham United and England midfield player complained about the lack of support he had received for his youth coaching blueprint in an interview in The Times. Brooking's frustration about the state of the game at grassroots level was dismissed by Mawhinney. “The Football League is running out of patience with him,” Mawhinney said.

There is no love lost between Brooking and Mawhinney, but the FA has distanced itself from reports that Brooking's job was on the line and the governing body has no problems with one of its employees having strong views. But David Davies, the former FA executive director, called on Brooking and Mawhinney to resolve their differences for the sake of English football. “This is a classic example of the failures in the structure of football in this country,” he said last night.

It was business as usual for Brooking yesterday as he arrived for work at his desk at the FA headquarters in London's Soho Square. His position, however, may become untenable if the FA pushes through plans to appoint a performance director.

Despite his differences with Mawhinney, Brooking remains a popular figure in the game and players such as David James joined Redknapp in closing ranks around him. “Sir Trevor is a class act,” the Portsmouth and England goalkeeper said. “His knowledge of football is wonderful, but even now he's underused and undervalued with his role in the FA. He's trying to get his initiatives in place and not getting the support. That's disgraceful.”

While players and managers have rushed to back Brooking, Dave Henson, an FA board member, has admitted that the Football League and the Premier League have failed to support him since he was appointed five years ago. “In the last few years there has never been any love lost between Sir Trevor and the professional game, and by that I mean the Football League and the Premier League,” Henson said. “They have never fully backed Trevor. Not everyone has been on board with him.”

Mawhinney has little faith in Brooking's blueprint to concentrate resources and was disappointed that he was ignored when he asked him to provide a list of changes that he wanted to implement in youth coaching policy.

While the administrators argue about the future of the game, it is left to managers such as Redknapp to produce the next generation of England players. “I used to see a kid practise, practise and practise for hours on end because he wanted to be a great player,” Redknapp said. “That was Frank Lampard. The other players would be having their dinner and he'd be out there shooting, running and doing his sprints. It's no coincidence that he hits the target every time now. It's no coincidence that he's quick now, considering he was a kid who couldn't really run. I don't see that very often any more.”