Harry Kane has urged his Tottenham teammates to ‘take responsibility’ in the club’s pursuit of a top-four finish this season.
Spurs kept up their chase for a Champions League spot and moved within three points of fourth-placed Arsenal following the 5-0 thrashing of Everton on Monday.
Head coach Antonio Conte claimed Spurs qualifying for Europe’s elite competition would be like a Premier League title (The Athletic), having undergone turbulent spells of form since the turn of the year.
Kane, who netted twice in a commanding performance in North London, admitted the Spurs squad is finally starting to implement the Italian’s methods, but there is now no excuse for any more slip-ups ahead of the run-in.
The striker said (via Football.London): “I don’t think we can hide away from the fact [Spurs are in a race for the top four] and we can’t keep saying, ‘We’re learning, we’re improving’. We’re there, we’re in amongst it.
“All we’ve got to do is be more consistent. Games like tonight will definitely help. It was a great game all round, with and without the ball.
“A lot of stuff we’ve been working on with the manager worked well. We punished them and kept a clean sheet. It’s about feeling that pressure.
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“It’s always difficult when a new manager first comes in, he has to implement his ideas and the way he wants to play. He’s been here now for four months so we can’t use a new manager as an excuse. We have to take the responsibility for ourselves.
“The manager is a fantastic coach, I’ve said that now on many occasions. I really enjoy working with him, so it’s down to us players to take that responsibility.”
Kane added: “A lot of us want to be playing in the Champions League. We haven’t played in it now for a couple of years but it’s where we think the club should be. So there’s a lot of hard work to go.
“It’s not just about one result because we’ve had good results like this this season already. It’s about putting together a run of four, five results in a row. Obviously, we’ve got another tough game on Saturday.
“Overall, like I’ve touched on, we have to take it in our stride and make sure we pick up points.”
Tottenham, who have now scored nine goals in their last two games, will look to make it a third Premier League victory in a row when they travel to Manchester United on Saturday evening.
Spurs Web Opinion
The performances against Everton and Leeds have shown what the team can be capable of. But the challenge has been doing that on a consistent basis, which hasn’t exactly happened.
Spurs now need to carry that momentum into what is a six-pointer this weekend against United, as it is getting to a point where dropped points are so crucial.
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