Mauricio Pochettino believes Harry Kane has paid a price for his exertions over the summer, when he represented England at the European Under-21 Championship and the Tottenham Hotspur manager said that the striker was short on confidence.
Pochettino would have preferred that Kane did not go with England to the tournament in the Czech Republic last June after his 31-goal breakthrough season last time out but he played in every minute of their three-match campaign, which ended at the group phase.
England’s final tie was the defeat against Italy on 24 June and thereafter, Kane enjoyed a break, during which time he got away to New York and the Bahamas. He reported back for pre-season training towards the end of July and he started in the club’s first showpiece friendly against an MLS All-Star XI in Denver on 30 July.
Kane has begun the season with no goals in eight appearances for Tottenham, although he did score in England’s Euro 2016 qualifiers against both San Marino and Switzerland in September. His all-round game has generally been good and his luck has been out – most recently, against Arsenal in the Capital One Cup defeat on Wednesday, when he saw one effort headed off the line by Kieran Gibbs.
Pochettino is convinced there is no need to panic, that Kane will turn the corner, but he suggested the 22-year-old was caught in a vicious cycle, in which a late return for pre-season had precipitated a slow start to the campaign and, in turn, affected his confidence.
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