HOW I TURNED KANE INTO A WARRIOR

At first a frustrated man, Harry is now mentally the toughest player in the world So focused on success, he spends the week at a house away from home nearer training ground

IN a brilliant new book called Brave New World, manager Mauricio Pochettino reveals how he turned Tottenham Hotspur into one of the best teams in the Premier League — plus his superstar players and club chairman speak candidly about his revolution and ambition at White Hart Lane In September last year Tottenham lost their opening Champions League match at Wembley against Monaco, with Pochettino extremely unhappy with the performance of the team and worried about the form of Harry Kane

TWO days after the Monaco match, spirits have started to lift again ahead of our game against Sunderland. Today we divided the group into the guys who played and the ones who didn’t, and I did some tactics.

There was no need for a video debrief of what to improve on from the Monaco game: the message had already been conveyed in no uncertain terms. But I did hold a meeting with some of the players to explain what we had to do and how to lead from within.

At my press conference ahead of the Premier League fixture, I reiterated what I’d said before: that we had lacked passion. I also noted that it’s a young team and it’s our job to help them grow.

And suddenly more details of that tough conversation with Marcelo Bielsa [Pochettino’s former coach] right after he joined Espanyol, came flooding back to me.

‘How would you rate your performances last season?’ Marcelo asked me. That year I’d won an award for the best centre-back in the league. I said: ‘It wasn’t quite nine or 10 out of 10. I’d give myself a seven.’

‘Listen,’ he replied, looking me straight in the eyes. ‘I’ve watched all the games back and if I’d been the coach, you wouldn’t have played, because you’ve stopped doing lots of things that you used to. You’re not the player I used to know.’

And, obviously, I reacted. I lost weight and trained harder. I was called up by the national team, signed for PSG and played in the World Cup. Such is the power of words. At lunchtime, I discovered that Harry Kane wanted to talk to me. I avoided him; my anger hadn’t fully passed yet. And when I’d finished eating, I decided to perform a little test. I got up and went to sit in an armchair by the balcony. Let’s see who comes over, I thought.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kane grab a piece of fruit from the buffet. He went back to his table. A short time later, he took his dirty plates over to the trays near the sofas. And then he sat down next to me. We ended up speaking until 3pm. I admitted to him that Bielsa had made me cry that day when he told me those home truths.

I know it was really tough for Kane at the start [when Pochettino arrived at Spurs in 2014]. We had to win over hearts, minds and bodies so that they would keep pressing and running up and down the pitch.

But I refused to entertain any doubts about this being the way forward. ‘If you do it, and continue doing it, and you’re tired at the end, don’t worry,’ I told Harry and the rest of the team. ‘I’ll introduce someone else to do your job, but you can’t leave anything in the tank.’

Before I arrived, his game was a bit more back to goal, holding it up. Whereas now, he is always on the front foot, always trying to press. And if we have the ball, he has freedom to move around, not just wait for the ball to get to him. He has to be alive every minute.

This is how we’ve turned the team with the worst defensive record in the top 10 into the best defence in the division. And without playing defensive football or making many personnel changes.

It is all about being brave. I love that word in English. We must display bravery at all times and, since mental preparation is crucial nowadays, we send daily messages to this effect in different formats and packaging.

I told the squad all that and then restated it differently by reminding them about when England played Spain in Alicante in November 2015. It was 0–0 at half-time, but 2–0 to Spain at the final whistle.

THE England internationals returned home happy, reckoning they’d given a good account of themselves in the first half.

I told them: ‘Excuse me, but I disagree, because at no point did you seek to take the initiative or be brave. Truth be told, it was clear right from the warm-up that Spain were going to win. The only question was whether they’d score in the first minute or the 90th, but the match was a foregone conclusion. Football is all about attitude.’

Kane was a frustrated guy when I arrived. He struggled to visualise his future at the club, with two or three strikers ahead of him. He was constantly being shipped out on loan. It was doubly exasperating for him as a Tottenham fan.

The club then suddenly hired an Argentinian coach and I picked up on his sense of resignation: ‘I’m sure this guy will bring in some other big-name striker.’

It was a tough few months because we didn’t click initially. He was out of form and, at 21, had the habits of a player in his thirties, the type who has been around the block.

I had several stern conversations with Harry in which I had to make him understand that he had to get ready for whenever the opportunity might arise. Fame and a hefty transfer fee don’t pave the way to a starting berth, only hard work.

Harry was humble enough to listen and take advice. We put the tools in place for him to improve.

The moment finally arrived for him. He played and then played again. By seeing his progress the boys coming up through the ranks realised that we kept our word.

Kane is a warrior now. He already was, but he didn’t know he had it in him. I’m not speaking about qualities or traits, but that essential mental strength to be able to stay in the elite. I believe he is the best player in the world in terms of mental strength, willpower and endeavour.

He is completely focused on his football. He has a house in Essex but spends the week at another one he owns closer to the training ground. He’s the first to arrive and the last to leave.

He likes to join in when someone with different experiences in football visits. He enjoys sitting down with us, soaking it all up and participating in the discussions. At those times it is as though for him nothing else in the world exists.

And, at 23, [when the diary was written, he is now 24] he is as enthusiastic as ever: he enjoys training, he prolongs his sessions and he studies elite players, past and present.

I WhatsApp him videos of goals or interesting pieces of play by other strikers. At all hours. The last one I sent was at 11pm.