Mauricio Pochettino has explained why he decided to bring on Harry Kane against Tranmere Rovers.
Tottenham Hotspur were 6-0 up against their League Two opposition when Pochettino decided to bring off Fernando Llorente, who had moments earlier completed his hat-trick and replaced him with Kane.
The move did raise eyebrows among some Spurs fans who felt that the star striker deserved a rest ahead of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi final first leg against Chelsea.
However, Kane entered the field of play with 15 minutes left to play and took just seven minutes to find the back of the net.
The forward was played through on goal courtesy of a clever pass from Dele Alli and Kane calmly lifted the ball over Scott Davies to net his 19thof the season in all competitions.
Pochettino felt that the decision to bring on his star man was due to respect for the FA Cup and the opportunity for the Tranmere fans to see England’s golden boot winner in action against their side.
He told Football.London: It was respect, respect the people, respect the opponent. They’re not going to have many chances to see Harry Kane play here in a competition like the FA Cup. I think it was a great atmosphere.
“For different reasons I decide to make a change and put Kane on the pitch but one of them is that It’s important to show respect to the people here so they could see Harry Kane, who is an icon in English football. It is difficult in that division to see it. It was important to see him in action.”
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