Losing after extra time has been an unlucky theme in recent seasons for Tottenham Hotspur, who were knocked out by PSV Eindhoven in the Uefa Cup last season, by Liverpool in the League Cup in 2004, and by Middlesbrough a year before that.

It probably did not help then that the Tottenham players did not practise spot-kicks before their defeat by Manchester United in a penalty shoot-out yesterday. Jamie O’Hara’s kick was saved by Ben Foster and David Bentley put his shot wide after the Carling Cup final had ended goalless.

Harry Redknapp admitted that he had few options in the shoot-out, but the Tottenham manager was pleased with his team’s battling performance. “We were not that confident with our penalty takers really and you looked over there and they had very confident penalty takers,” Redknapp said. “I thought we were super, fantastic. It was a great performance and it came down to a lottery. We didn’t deserve to lose.”

Redknapp did not blame O’Hara or Bentley, because of their willingness to take a kick. Bentley cannot be judged on missing one penalty, but his future at the club will remain in the balance after disappointing performances since his £15 million transfer from Blackburn Rovers last summer. “It was a poor penalty for a player who can strike a ball as well as he can,” his manager said.

Redknapp has fresh injury concerns for the Barclays Premier League match against Middlesbrough on Wednesday. Ledley King’s knee will take days to settle down and Jonathan Woodgate failed a fitness test after he suffered an Achilles injury on Saturday. Michael Dawson is likely to be paired with Vedran Corluka in central defence.

Redknapp will be able to call upon the four players cup-tied — Carlo Cudicini, Pascal Chimbonda, Robbie Keane and Wilson Palacios. “There’s injuries, there’s fatigue — we’ve spent all our resources,” Redknapp said. “If you’re Middlesbrough, you must be sitting at home and enjoying every minute of this.”

Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, said that the players needed to concentrate now on survival. “The players are gutted, but the important thing is that they pick themselves up and get up that table,” Levy said. “If you look at the power and quality we showed — we have to do it every week.”

Cristiano Ronaldo was unhappy at being booked by Chris Foy, the referee, when he appeared to be fouled by Ledley King. “If you see the reply on TV, you can see he kicked me in the foot and that is why I am limping,” he said. “But it is the ref’s decision and we have to respect it. It was not the right decision, but with the pressures of the game, it is so quick. He gave me a yellow card and I don’t know why.”