BORN LEADER
Poch says captain Kane is a natural
MAURICIO POCHETTINO has told Harry Kane to show he is a natural leader.
The England skipper will wear the armband for Spurs over the next few months while Hugo Lloris recovers from injury.
It will be a tough job for Kane with his club stuck in a bad run of form and anything but victory against Watford today will be seen as a disaster.
But Pochettino insists that should not worry.
The Spurs boss said: “Harry has a good example with Hugo, working with him.
“I think he learned a lot from Hugo. He is young but he is learning a lot from different people and he is very mature. He is capable.
“But he does not need to feel too much pressure. He needs to act natural.
“The most important thing is to not show too much the responsibility on your shoulders, to act natural.
“When you act natural, if you are a natural leader, you don’t feel the responsibility.
“When you do what you feel, what you feel here in your heart, it’s natural. The Kane problem is if you need to act. If you are not a real leader and you need to act, you spend energy thinking, ‘How do I need to face this problem?’
“But if you trust in yourself and you are a natural leader then, I promise, you don’t feel the responsibility.”
The players have returned from international duty this week on the back of demoralising defeats to Bayern Munich and Brighton.
Pochettino has been trying to improve the atmosphere after recent results. The Argentinian joked that he is still the best in training when it comes to passing drills but there will be questions if they cannot beat rock-bottom Watford.
He added: “It is important to win. It is the best medicine for everyone to win games and have a good performance.
“And the key is to provide the team with togetherness, to be calm and to believe in them. That is the most important.
“When you arrive in a period like this you can hear a lot of opinion, but the most important thing is our assessment, the way that we talk.” (below)