YOU MUST PROTECT KANE TOO, JOSE ‘Foden and Greenwood must wait’

SOUTHGATE FIRES BACK AT SPURS BOSS, REMINDING HIM ‘IT WORKS BOTH WAYS’

GARETH SOUTHGATE has told Jose Mourinho he heard his plea to protect Harry Kane loud and clear, and expects Tottenham to do the same and look after the England captain ahead of the Euros.

Mourinho urged Southgate and his No.2, ‘very good friend’ Steve Holland, his former Chelsea assistant, not to over play Kane during this month’s three matches after a fixture pile-up at Spurs.

The Spurs boss said he hopes they ‘ respect the players’ but would not ‘call, ask or beg’ and Southgate joked he ‘ understood what (Mourinho) was doing’. But the England manager hit back yesterday as he named the striker in his squad to face Wales, Belgium and Denmark, calling on Mourinho to help him out ahead of next summer’s tournament.

‘Jose was great, he was on good form,’ he said, insisting he has always had a good relationship with the Portuguese who ‘never, ever put me under pressure not to pick a player’.

‘I heard him. He won’t phone but he will stand on Tottenham’s stadium and tell us. I am a bit disappointed I am not one of his friends. Steve is, but he helped him to a league title so that’s understandable. All Jose needs to do is make sure in April and May he has to look after Harry because there are 55million people relying on that. That obviously works both ways.’

He has also spoken to Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after criticism over Southgate’s handling of Mason Greenwood being sent home from Iceland. Solskjaer claimed not to know how to contact him but Southgate said: ‘I felt after what Ole said it would be good for us to speak, so I thought I should take that responsibility as I did have his number.’