Kane’s Shear class!
HARRY IS ON TRACK TO BE A 3 LIONS LEGEND
‘Their hunger to be top of the scoring charts is a huge driving force’
GARETH SOUTHGATE is backing Harry Kane to have an Alan Shearer-style career for both club and country.
The England boss had Shearer as a Three Lions team- mate and now he is managing Kane at international level.
It is a year since the Tottenham striker, 23, last scored for England and he will be striving to end that barren run against Scotland at Hampden Park in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier.
But Southgate has no doubt that the scorer of 35 goals for his club this season has what it takes to succeed at the highest level.
The England boss said: “Can Harry be like Shearer? That is one of the great challenges.
“But he was in the first squad we picked for the Under-21s and I could immediately see what an outstanding finisher he was.
“You could see he had huge self-belief. What has always impressed me is that he has the mentality to be the best player he can possibly be.
“In my view you can’t have too many of those players. They are infectious. And we have quite a few of those.
“Harry is always working to improve his game. He thinks about his game and his physical preparation. He has improved physically – in every aspect he is strong.
“He has shown he is not a one-season wonder. He has proved that – he has put numbers on the table and that is great for us.
“Goalscorers are usually about scoring goals for themselves. So I see that resemblance to Shearer.
“If you have won the game and they haven’t scored they both have the hump.
“But I think that Harry also gets the bigger picture of what is really important for the team, as Alan did as well.
“It is difficult to compare them but I would say they are both very single-minded and their hunger for scoring and their hunger to be top of those scoring charts is a huge driving force definitely. But equally for both of them, life wouldn’t be complete if they weren’t winning things as part of the team, too.
“They enjoy the individual recognition and feel some accomplishment with that.
“But for the real satisfaction they want to win things with the team as well and that’s clear.”
If anyone is going to beat Newcastle hero Shearer’s Premier League scoring record of 260 goals, Southgate believes it could be Kane, who currently has 78 in only 113 appearances.
Southgate said: “Well, he’s in position, isn’t he? But that’s why you have to admire the likes of Shearer, because of the longevity of his record at such a high level.
“That really elevates the top, top players to a different level. You have to keep proving yourself season after season.
“That’s the great challenge for any young player, which Harry still is. And I don’t see any diminishing in the hunger from him.
“If anything, he’s talking more bullishly about wanting to improve and wanting to be even better. “And that, of course, is healthy for us. “The great thing about Harry is that he wants to know more about his nutrition, athletic training or whatever it is. “He is so focused on how to get better.” Southgate, meanwhile, warns that Scotland will be a tougher proposition than many England fans might think.
He said: “My experience tells me that. Their last performance was better.
“There was more energy. Celtic’s Stuart Armstrong and Kieran Tierney definitely make a difference for them.
“Not only do they have the motivation of beating England but also the motivation of qualifying from the group.
“We can expect to have a really tough game. There’s plenty of factors we have to be prepared for at Hampden.
“We have to be ready for a challenge and a proper game but I have huge belief in our players.”