HARRY’S URGED TO LOOK FORWARD BUT PROBLEMS ARE PILING UP FOR NUNO
NUNO ESPIRITO Santo wants to focus on the present at Tottenham, denying Harry Kane is suffering a hangover from a tumultuous summer. writes Matthew Nash.
The England captain’s move to Manchester City failed to materialise and his return to action has seen him go four Premier League games without a goal.
The striker played deeper and out wide as Spurs were beaten 3-0 by rivals Chelsea on Sunday, has had fewer touches in the opposition box than Liverpool defender Joel Matip and went through his first-ever 90 minutes without having a shot in the 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace.
Asked if the 28-year-old was affected by what went on in the summer, Spurs boss Nuno said: ‘That’s the past. Nothing we can say or do now or in the future will change the past.
‘What we have to do with the past is put it behind [us] and focus in the present.
‘The way we are working is to find solutions, try to reinvent, recreate situations which can improve our football and our game and Harry is part of the team.’
Spurs won their opening three top-flight matches but back-to-back 3-0 defeats have set them back and raised questions about whether Nuno’s style of play is too defensive.
‘Our fans deserve much, much better than what we did on Sunday,’ added Nuno.
‘I was really pleased and I think our fans were as well with the first half, there were a lot of positives but the second half wasn’t good.’
He cited several ‘problems’ ahead of tonight’s Carabao Cup tie at old club Wolves.
He said: ‘Problems [like] the situation with the momentum we have, what we suffered during the international break, the absence of players, we have to improve the level of performance, we concede goals from set-pieces – so many problems to solve.’