Ryan Mason has said that Harry Kane does not get the credit he deserves for his professionalism and model behaviour on the pitch.
Kane has carried Spurs (and arguably England) for quite a while, with the striker having written his name into the history books as the record goal scorer for both club and country.
The 29-year-old is someone the team constantly looks towards to bail them out of difficult situations and he delivers more often than not.
Kane was once again the star of the show on Thursday against Manchester United as he dropped into a deeper role to pull the strings in the second half and help Spurs mount a comeback.
Mason has now lavished praise on the striker’s leadership qualities, admitting that he sets an example for his teammates to follow.
The Tottenham interim head coach told Football.London: “He’s our best player, I don’t think I’m out of order saying that because he is our best player and he is a leader.
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“There are many different ways as he’s a technical leader, he’s a leader in terms of his mannerisms, how he carries himself, the example that he sets and sometimes we don’t probably speak about that enough because he’s not the most loud and outspoken person.
“But we know what type of leader we’ve got, we know what type of character we’ve got and when you put in performances like he did last night that can influence games, that’s the best type of leader that you can get.
“But listen, Harry had the armband on last night but I want to encourage many of the other players to be leaders as well because it’s not only one, it’s a collective.
“The more characters we can get with that personality to push each other and demand from each other, the better.”
Mason suggested that like with other great players in the past, Kane’s talent would only be fully recognised when he hangs up his boots.
He said: “It’s probably natural, I think we say that about all our great players.
“Maybe in 10 years, we’ll look back and we’ll say what a great player Harry really was and that we probably should have celebrated him more while we were enjoying watching him play football.
“I’ve always been quite consistent on that. I played with him, I saw it and I felt what kind of player he was. At the same time even as a fan of football, it’s hard not to love and appreciate the type of player that he is.”
The 31-year-old opined that the England captain does not get enough credit for his flawless behaviour off the pitch ever since he broke into the Tottenham and the Three Lions set-up.
When asked if Kane would be appreciated more if he was a big-money foreign signing rather than a local lad who came through the system, Mason responded:
“I’m not sure but in terms of any player coming through an academy, representing the club they love, consistently putting in top performances and also as well – and it probably doesn’t get spoken about enough – off the pitch we’re talking about someone who has acted in the right way for over a decade now.
“There have been no problems, no negativity, no scandals and that says a lot for me.
“I know Harry very well and I know his family very well as well. He’s an example of what I’d want any young kid to look up to.”
Spurs Web Opinion
There are many different leadership styles and one can argue that a good team needs several kinds of leaders.
While Kane has never been the most vocal, he has always led by example, both on and off the pitch, and sets an excellent example for other players at the club.
We are so lucky to have him as seeing your best player work his socks off and act with humility, tends to rub off on the rest of the dressing room.
Players as talented as Kane and Son are very rarely as selfless as the Spurs pair are.
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