Tim Sherwood opens up on how Spurs fans didn’t love superstar at first

Tim Sherwood has claimed that Harry Kane was not particularly popular among the Tottenham fans when the striker first broke into the club’s senior side.

Kane had several loan spells in the lower leagues with little to show for it by the time Sherwood replaced Andre Villas-Boas as an interim head coach after the Portuguese coach was sacked midway into the 2013-14 season.

Spurs still had Emanuel Adebayor in their squad and had spent big money on Roberto Soldado the previous summer but Sherwood put his trust in Kane, and the Tottenham academy graduate delivered towards the end of the season.

The England striker went on to explode in the subsequent campaign under Mauricio Pochettino and made himself extremely popular with Spurs fans.

However, Sherwood insisted that the White Hart Lane faithful did not immediately take to Kane and would often sing Roberto Soldado’s name when the Spaniard was left on the bench.

The pundit told Premier League Productions (01/10/22 at 12:05 pm): “It was very difficult for Kane because Soldado was there and there was a lot of pressure.

“I remember the fans, even when Harry was starting the games, after an hour if he hadn’t scored, they were singing for Soldado to come onto the pitch and now they sing ‘he’s one of our own’.

“But it takes a lot of work for them to be able to convince the fans, as a local boy. Now they love him. But at the time, they didn’t.

“Mentally, he’s very, very strong and he can cope. His desire and his determination to be better every single day and still now. It’s why where he is.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I have to admit that I was one of those Spurs fans who thought Kane was not good enough to make it at the top level. 

As a youngster, he looked clumsy and unathletic, and the likes of Tom Carrol, Andros Townsend, John Obika, Adam Smith and Steve Caulker, who were of a similar age to Kane, appeared to be much more talented players.

However, Kane kept improving season on season, and his evolution into one of the best in the world is a testament to his hard work and never-say-die attitude.

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