WHEN THE Champions League draw was made last Thursday in magical Monaco, most of the interest of 'Inside Right' was focussed on how Spurs would fare as the teams were painstakingly pulled from the hat.

The verdict of yours truly is that clearly it could have been easier but also could have been a hell of a lot worse for the tournament virgins, and the wily Harry Redknapp may have a trick or two up his sleeve to give Spurs a real chance of progressing.

Having done their best to implode in the away leg against Young Boys of Berne, they finished them off with aplomb in the second leg, but the real test of their mettle lies ahead, having been pitted against holders Inter Milan, as well as Werder Bremen and FC Twente.

It goes without saying that Inter Milan will be their toughest test but you get the distinct feeling that they may not be as potent a force after the departure of Jose Mourinho, although Rafa Benitez will be keen to mend his tarnished reputation in what is clearly his favourite competition.

Werder Bremen have been severely weakened by Mesut Ozil's switch to Real Madrid and looked far from teak-tough as they scraped through to the group stages by edging out Sampdoria, while FC Twente are the current Dutch champions, but it's hardly one of Europe's top leagues, and manager Steve McClaren has since switched to Wolfsburg.

It would be a surprise, and a severe damnation of the managerial skills of Rafa Benitez, should Inter not top the group, but second place is very much up for grabs. Harry Redknapp's men should be capable of beating Bremen and Twente at home and hope to pick up a point or two on their travels, but those two sides will feel the same about Spurs, so it's really a wide open contest.

Things look much more straightforward for the other English contenders. Of course, plenty will be made of Man United's 'Battle of Britain' with Glasgow Rangers, but in truth, given the recent decline in Scottish football, United should beat them out the gate both home and away.

Valencia look the biggest threat to United, but after losing the classy David Villa to Barcelona and David Silva to Manchester City, they're a fading force, and Alex Ferguson's men should comfortably get out of a group that also includes Turkish champions Bursaspor without breaking sweat.

Chelsea will be keen to get their hands on the one trophy that has eluded them during their recent golden era, and on current form they should have little trouble progressing out of a group that contains Marseille, Spartak Moscow and Slovakian champions Zilina.

Arsenal look to have an even more simple task and, a lengthy trip to the Ukraine to face Shaktar Donetsk aside, it should be plain sailing. Braga may have knocked out Celtic and Sevilla en route to the group stage, but the Gunners will have too much firepower for them, and Partizan Belgrade should be brushed aside with a degree of ease.

The question for Arsenal, as usual, is how will they react when they come up against the big boys in the knockout stages, after being completely outplayed and embarrassed by Barcelona and Manchester United in the past two seasons?

The most intriguing group is undoubtedly the one containing AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax and Auxerre and it could throw up the sort of excitement normally reserved for the latter stages of the competition - although big guns Milan and Madrid should still make it through - albeit after a scare or two.

The draw has been kind to favourites Barcelona, with Panathinakos, Copenhagen and Rubin Kazan in their group, while last year's beaten finalists, Bayern Munich, will also be happy with their lot, thrown in with Roma, Basel and CFR Cluj.

The other group containing Lyon, Benfica, Schalke and Hapoel Tel Aviv will hardly set the pulses racing, but Lyon will progess and you can take your pick from Benfica and Schalke.

As usual only a handful of clubs will be capable of winning it - Arsenal again have an outside chance but will probably fall short, and it would be a surprise if champions Inter Milan fare as well under Benitez.

The champions are likely to come from Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid or English pair Man United and Chelsea, but the formbook was torn up last year with no English side reaching the last four, and firm favourites Barcelona being dumped out at the semi-final stage by Inter Milan, so we can expect one or two shocks along the way.

Who knows? Harry's Hotspur could even be crowned champions in Wembley come May. Even Harry Houdini couldn't pull that one off.