Harry Redknapp said that his accent was one of the reasons why he was linked to alleged tax evasion charges, a court heard on Wednesday.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager is currently on trial with former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric. Both men deny the charges.

"If there is any mud to be thrown, I seem to get on the end of it for whatever reason," Redknapp told accountant Nigel Layton in 2006 as Pompey's accounts were examined by the Metropolitan Police during another investigation.

"A friend said to me, he said 'Harry, I can't believe it's always you, I have dealt with you enough times. Your problem is your name, Harry, and you have got a Cockney accent'.

"People don't know me and I am sick and tired of it."

However, the two defendants' explanations over the £196,000 in Redknapp's Monaco bank account were described as 'lacking in credibility' by prosecutor John Black QC.

Redknapp claimed to have "received express reassurances from Mr Mandaric that the tax had been paid", while Mandaric "assumed that Mr Redknapp would take legal advice and make the necessary action".

The trial continues tomorrow.