I’VE GOT THE KEY TO D’OR

Kane is in the form of his life and now has his sights set on the ‘big gold trophy’ for best player in the world

HARRY KANE is in the form of his life, finishing the club season with a seven-goal, two-match scoring flurry.

It will almost certainly see him lead the England line at Hampden Park tomorrow but Kane has grander ambitions on his mind.

After convincing even the strongest sceptics that he is the Premier League real deal, the Spurs striker has his sights set now on the Ballon d’Or.

“It’s definitely something I aspire to – who wouldn’t want to win that big gold trophy?” the Tottenham star said.

When asked if he thought he was at that very top level, he declared: “I think so. My goals for my club prove that but I’m always looking to improve. I’m not someone who will rest on what I’ve already achieved.” What Kane achieved with Tottenham last season was a haul of 29 Premier League goals from 29 starts. It was the third consecutive season he has scored more than 20, but he knows important goals on important occasions are what define the greatest strikers.

Kane went on: “I’ve always had to prove people wrong to get where I am now. Now, internationally, it is no different.

“You always get judged on the big games and the big moments. You see the world’s best do it every time they seem to get to those occasions.

“You see Cristiano Ronaldo do that game in, game out. In the finals, in the semi-finals.

“That’s what I aspire to. Ronaldo’s a great role model, a fantastic player. That’s hopefully something I can achieve one day. I want to be classed in that bracket but I know I’m not there yet.

“Part of it is proving it on the international stage.

“At club level I’ve had a good few seasons. It’s now about taking that next step, in the big games, in the big moments. I’m working harder than ever to try and achieve that.”

For Kane to strike on the big occasions, it needs his club and country to feature in the big occasions and he is convinced Tottenham and England can do just that.

He said: “You have to win the big tournaments, for club and country. Ronaldo won the European Championship and the Champions League and that’s part of the reason why, most of the time, he wins it (Ballon d’Or). Messi’s similar.

“To do that, it isn’t just individual, it’s part of a team thing as well, winning team trophies. That’s hopefully what we can do at Tottenham.

“That’s my aim and also the aim of the club and the manager.

“That’s got to be our focus. We can’t be going into the Champions League next season not expecting to win it.”

Kane’s immediate focus is disposing of Scotland, taking another emphatic stride towards Russia 2018 and, just as importantly according to him, re-establishing a connection with the nation’s supporters.

He finished: “Football is such a big part of England. We feel like maybe we’ve lost our identity over the years. Now it’s about finding it again.

“We’ve got a lot of fantastic players. If we can find our identity as a team it will help the fans connect with us and, going into tournaments, that would be fantastic.”