Of big hitters Hotshot Kane happy to challenge Pochettino… and the boss likes it
HARRY KANE has had a trainingground bust-up with Mauricio Pochettino, calling his manager’s training regime into question.
Unlikely as it sounds, that is the basic truth behind a new-found level of respect Pochettino has gained for the man he hopes will fire Spurs to yet another three points tomorrow.
Fear not, Tottenham fans: Kane has not suddenly developed a prima donna complex. In fact, the club talisman wanted to do more training, not less. Pochettino offered up the anecdote about their recent disagreement as evidence of Kane’s passion and bravery, a far better example of anything he could do to impress the Argentinian in public.
“If I am on the touchline tomorrow shouting and behaving like a madman, you write that ‘Pochettino has a very strong character’.
“But to shout and try to fight in front of other people is not an example of being brave and having a good personality. That does not show if you are strong or not.
“Character is not what you show on the touchline. Character is in every single decision that, when you’re inside, when you are face-toface in a room.
“That is when you need to be brave. For instance, sometimes Harry is upset because he wants to practise his finishing on the afternoon and we say no, it’s not the right moment. ‘Tomorrow,’ I’ll promise. ‘No, but I want to do it today in the afternoon; I want to do a double session’. I say, ‘Harry, no. Harry, no!’ ‘Oh gaffer, come on! I feel good, I am not tired!’
“Then, even though I don’t think it is the best thing for him, I would end up saying, ‘OK, maybe half-an-hour finishing’ – even though it meant we needed to call two or three keepers from the academy to go in goal. That shows his determination and character.
“What I am trying to explain is that Harry Kane has a very good character. He’s very strong, very professional.
“He’s a player that always challenges you and that is what I like.”
At the moment, you would think the last thing Kane needed to practise was his finishing.
Three hat-tricks in nine games have brought his tally for the season up to 22 goals in only 28 games after he missed a spell earlier in the season through injury. He is expected to be fit for the visit of Everton after colliding with a post late in the game against Stoke last Sunday but will undergo a final assessment today.
Having scored 10 of Tottenham’s last 14 goals in English football, much will be riding on his shoulders in the shoot-out with Everton’s former Tottenham target Romelu Lukaku.
Tim Sherwood identified the Belgium international, then on loan at Goodison from Chelsea, as a target in a meeting with Daniel Levy at the start of April 2014.
Just a few days later, Kane marked his first ever Premier League start with a goal and it was not too long before a striker ceased to be the White Hart Lane priority.
“To compare is too difficult,” Pochettino said. “If you ask Ronald Koeman, Lukaku is the best. If you ask me, of course, Harry Kane is the best.
“Both are difficult to play against for different reasons.
“They are a type of striker that demand a lot of focus on them and you have to be ready to fight. For different qualities, both are great, great strikers.
“So we need to be very respectful with both of them. For me, both are great players with their quality and their skills and would be in a list of the best 10 strikers in Europe.”