Kane praises Spurs’ ‘togetherness’

Harry Kane believes Tottenham have come a long way since their last trip to Chelsea, saying their mindset is completely different to what it was during March’s humiliation.

Spurs have not triumphed at Stamford Bridge in any competition since February 1990, when Gary Lineker netted the decisive goal in a 2-1 win.

Since then there have been many embarrassing experiences in west London, including the 4-0 annihilation in March which led then head coach Tim Sherwood to heavily criticise his side.

The players were accused of a lack of guts and character in the post-match media as well as the dressing room, leading to strong words being exchanged by the players during a two-hour meeting.

Kane, an unused substitute that day, remembers the defeat all too well and is confident there will be no such recriminations after Wednesday’s encounter.

“Obviously it is never nice when you get beat, especially by that sort of margin,” the in-form striker said. “We had to look at each other, dust ourselves down and really push on. I think since then we’ve done well.

“This is a new season now, we’ve got a great bunch of lads and I think we’re all together and we’ll take that into the game on Wednesday.”

Overcoming Chelsea this week is a big ask for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, who approach the match fresh from overcoming Everton 2-1 on Sunday.

That was Spurs’ third straight win in all competitions – a result made all the sweeter as the winner saw Roberto Soldado end a 593-minute wait for a goal.

The way everyone connected when Spurs celebrated the Spaniard’s effort was remarkable and underlines what Kane calls the “great togetherness in the team and throughout the squad”.

The England Under-21s forward pointed to previous comebacks as a sign of that ever-improving team bond, which he admits may stem back to March’s defeat at Stamford Bridge.

“It could have done,” Kane said. “That was obviously a defeat that we did not like.

“We had a look at each other and talk about it. Yes, you could say that might have had an effect and urged us on a bit.

“But this season we have stuck together in games and in pre-season, we get on well and we have shown that on the pitch.

“We were honest with each other that day – and we had to be at that stage. Sometimes you have to do that in football when results don’t go your way.

“You need to look at yourself and dust yourself down and stick together and push on.”