Harry Kane looks set to be given another opportunity to break his August duck against Fulham, despite the Spurs and England captain having effectively had no pre-season training. After being handed a start in Tottenham’s league opener, only five days after returning to training following the World Cup, Kane failed to score and looked short of sharpness in the 2-1 win at Newcastle last Saturday. The 25-year-old has failed to score in 14 games during August and has also appeared beneath his best form since returning from an ankle injury at the end of last season. But Mauricio Pochettino believes external impressions do not tell the full story.
“We all have our own truths about what we see and how we manage,” Pochettino said. “The people outside don’t know how Harry Kane was after playing 90 minutes last week. They don’t know if on Sunday Harry was off, or on Monday, or if he was training or in the gym. Be sure I am not going to take a risk. But you know in football, it’s always impossible. The most fit players can get injuries.”
Pochettino said he had specifically outlined to his players the importance of a good start to the season this summer. Recent campaigns saw Spurs having to make up ground on their rivals later in the year, and the Argentinian says he is determined to avoid that outcome this time around. “We were talking about that. It’s true,” he said. “All the players were here last week and we talked about that. Not wasting time. We need to be focused from day one.
“Maybe it looks as though we do have time but the Premier League is so competitive and it is so important to be ready. The most important game is Saturday. Then after Saturday it’s the next one. So we have to be ready to compete and not waste time. Not think: ‘OK, we can win or we can draw’. For me that is the key thing.”