Harry Kane has insisted that Tottenham have to show the same energy against Burnley as they did in their previous two matches against Liverpool and Arsenal.
While Tottenham have tended to give a decent account of themselves in big matches, almost all of their slip-ups over the last few months have come against relative minnows.
That is something Antonio Conte’s men will be keen to avoid against Burnley, with the Lilywhites having the opportunity to go two points clear of Arsenal ahead of their trip to St James’ Park on Sunday.
Kane told Football.London about Spurs’ upcoming clash against the Clarets: “I think we have to keep the energy high.
“I think you saw [against Arsenal] and against Liverpool, we had really high energy without the ball, with the ball, and created chances, and obviously scored some goals.
“So when you’re playing teams like Burnley at home, especially when there’s pressure on the game, you have to go out there and keep the energy high, and make sure you’re winning the ball back high, and creating chances and that’s what we’ll try to do.”
In his post-match press conference following Tottenham’s 3-0 win over Arsenal (Football.London), Conte reminded the media that Spurs had lost 1-0 to Burnley in the reverse fixture.
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Kane admitted that he and his teammates expect a similarly challenging game when Mike Jackson’s side come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The England captain added: “It was a really tough game [in February], it was a tight game away at their place.
“It was raining, windy, a really difficult game, a difficult night for us. They got a goal when it could have gone either way. So look, we expect them to make it difficult for us.
“Probably we’ll have more of the possession, but we’ll have to break them down, try to get that early goal, and open the game up. So we’ve got a couple of days to try to prepare for that, recover well, and make sure we’re ready.
“We need to make sure we’re ready. It is a quick turnaround, but it was nice how we controlled the game the way we did in that second half today, I think that was important to reserve a bit of energy.
“It’s just about recovery, sleeping well, eating well, making sure we prepare well. Probably more so in the meetings, looking at the opposition, rather than on the pitch and just come out here and bring the energy.
“We’ve got one week left in the season, so there’s no excuse not to go out there and give it everything.”
Spurs could miss out on Champions League football even if they win their two remaining games, with Arsenal still having a point lead over them.
Kane insisted that it is an advantage for Tottenham that they play before Mikel Arteta’s side but admitted it will only matter if they get all three points.
Kane said: “I think I’d rather be going first than second, of course, but we still need to go out there and win.
“Otherwise it makes their job a lot easier. So if we can do that on Sunday, of course, it makes their game a lot tougher on Monday night away to Newcastle. We’ll see what happens.
“We’ll be watching it for sure. We need to get our job done first on Sunday and then, of course, I think a lot of us will be watching it, and hoping for a good result for Newcastle.”
Spurs Web Opinion
This North London Derby win will mean nothing if we cannot follow this up with wins in our final two games of the season. Going to St James’ Park on Monday night will not be easy for Arsenal and there is no doubt that the pressure on them will be much higher if we beat Burnley on Sunday.
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