Redknapp had agreed a lucrative deal to become the national coach of Ukraine, who host England in a decisive qualifier in September, when QPR stepped in.
In the end, the challenge of trying to keep the west London club in the Barclays Premier League convinced Redknapp to stay - and he has no regrets despite still facing an uphill battle.
"It would have been interesting," Redknapp said.
"They are bang back in the picture again, going to Poland and winning was a fantastic result.
"I was going to go. It was 100%. We had agreed the deal and then this came along and I had a decision to make.
"It was a hard decision. Financially it was fantastic, better than anything I could have got in England.
"It didn't mean living in the Ukraine. But when's the next game, September? What do you do between now and then?
"Coming into work every morning is what keeps me going, being on the training ground with the players. Going to Fulham on Monday, to Manchester United, to Anfield, it is part of your life.
"That was the difference. I knew this was a tough job here but I thought the Premier League is home, it is what I am used to."
Despite the setback of a draw in Montenegro, Redknapp is confident England will qualify for the 2016 World Cup in Brazil but they will have to come through a tough trip to Ukraine.
"It will be a difficult game for England," he said. "We had a tight game in the Euros. I have still got faith we will win the group.
"I thought the first half against Montenegro we played very well. In the second half they got amongst us, which is what you expect in a tight stadium like that."
England manager Roy Hodgson has been criticised for not making any changes in a bid to check Montenegro's second-half momentum but Redknapp has sympathy.
"You could see the game running away from them but it is very hard when you are winning 1-0 (to make changes), it is never easy to do that," Redknapp said.
"Second guessing is the easiest game in the world. If you make a change and it all goes wrong, they blame you. If you don't make a change and you lose, they blame you. You can't win."
Instead of analysing Arsenal Kiev this weekend, as he might have been, Redknapp will be preparing QPR for a London derby against Fulham.
QPR are seven points away from safety with eight matches remaining but Redknapp is convinced his side can claw their way to safety.
"We can get out of it. We're playing well. If we were in bad form I'd be more worried," he said.
"That gives us a chance. With eight games to go, that's positive for us. There are four or five wins for us in the games left.
"We've got to go to Fulham and win the game. It's a local derby, we'll take a huge following with us. We want a positive result."
Redknapp said the mercurial Adel Taarabt, who has been dropped in recent weeks, still has a role to play QPR's survival bid.
But Redknapp's priority is to get QPR playing with the same kind of work ethic that underpins the great Barcelona.
"The best teams work the hardest," said Redknapp.
"People think the best teams just play football. It's a fallacy. The best team in the world is Barcelona and they are the hardest-working team.
"They work harder than anyone else without the ball and they work harder than anyone else when they've got the ball.
"We've got to work hard too. It's not a case of picking scrappers. Whoever I pick, whether they think they're skilful players or not, they've all got to work."
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