Pochettino hopes Janssen can fill in for Kane

has been backed to fill the large gap left by Harry Kane in the Spurs line-up Getty

Mauricio Pochettino said it, late on Sunday afternoon in the press conference room at White Hart Lane. Eric Dier, speaking at the same time out in the car park, said exactly the same thing: that Vincent Janssen has improved beyond recognition in the last few weeks.

It is no exaggeration to say that one month ago Janssen’s Tottenham career looked finished. He was left out of the 18-man squad for the Europa League first leg at KAA Gent, and when Pochettino was asked why afterwards, he pulled no punches.

“He needs to show more,” Pochettino said, “it is about how [the players] show their quality, their belief, on the training ground.”

Three days after that Janssen was back on the bench for an FA Cup tie at Craven Cottage. Spurs went 3-0 up with a Harry Kane hattrick and even then Janssen did not get on. He got one minute against Gent in the second leg but the following Sunday, against Stoke, Spurs were 4-0 up at halftime. Again, Janssen did not get on.

Fast-forward two weeks though and something has changed. Janssen came on with 16 minutes left on Sunday afternoon and, contrary to all expectations, he scored in open play. He has scored four penalties but this was his first not from the spot. He has started 10 games and made another 20 appearances from the bench.

Everyone at Tottenham was delighted for Janssen after his goal and both Pochettino and Dier were on the same page when discussing it afterwards.

“All the squad and the teammates are really happy [for Vincent],” Pochettino said. Of course [it can be a turning point]. I have told you that in the last few months he has stepped up and started to work better, and I was happy in the way he was performing in training. In football you need to be ready to show your quality.”

Spurs scored six goals after Kane went off on Sunday but their next opponents will be harder, especially with an FA Cup semifinal and a north London derby coming up next month. – The Independent