Pochettino relieved as marksman Kane finds his scoring boots again

Tottenham striker Harry Kane finally scored a goal in August as Mauricio Pochettino integrated his World Cup stars back into Premier League life with a 3-1 win over Fulham on Saturday.

Kane had never scored in August in 14 previous matches until claiming his team’s third goal after 77 minutes on an afternoon when the nine Spurs stars who reached the World Cup semifinals continued to return to domestic action.

“I’m very happy for him,” said Tottenham manager Pochettino.

“It was important for him, important for him to feel the net in this period because, if not, we’ll make a trauma for him! He told me that after the game so he knows it’s good.”

Kane’s goal had been set up by a surging run from substitute Erik Lamela and came four minutes after Spurs had regained the lead at Wembley through one of his England teammates, defender Kieran Trippier.

Playing for the first time since his World Cup exploits in Russia, Trippier scored via a magnificent 25-metre free-kick, reminiscent of the one he netted for England in their semifinal defeat by Croatia.

“He came back from the World Cup the same. But of course your trust and confidence in yourself increases,” Pochettino said.

“But the most important thing is for him to keep humble, keep working and, in the end, England didn’t win! Still, with Tottenham, we didn’t win [a trophy]. In football we’re here to try to win, not be fourth, third, second.

“I told you, I felt the energy when we all arrived here, when we all started to work together in pre-season. The mentality has been very good and if you are strong in your mind then you can compete.”