Harry Kane insists Spurs are still in the title race © AFP / Lindsey PARNABY
BURNLEY, United Kingdom, Feb 25 – Harry Kane insists Tottenham are still in the Premier League title race despite suffering a major setback in their defeat at Burnley.
After winning all four league games while Kane recovered from an ankle ligament injury sustained in the January home defeat to Manchester United, Tottenham capitulated at Turf Moor on Saturday, falling 2-1 to Ashley Barnes’ late strike after England forward Kane marked his comeback with the away side’s equaliser.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino effectively conceded his third placed team were out of the race after the loss, which leaves Spurs six points behind leaders Liverpool, but Kane refuses to write off his side’s chances.
“That would be their opinion. It’s been like that for the whole season,” Kane said.
“People have been talking us not being in it, then we would win a few games and we’re there.
“People will probably say now it’s a two-horse race, but that’s not our problem. All we can do is take care of ourselves.
“It’s a shame because when we needed to find another level, another gear, we didn’t have it in the locker. Unfortunately that was the case.”
Tottenham will not have long to wait if they are to prove their worth.
They are at the start of a period that sees them play league derbies against Chelsea on Wednesday and Arsenal on Saturday, as well as the return leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund, in which they have a 3-0 lead.
– Character –
Kane and his team-mates have made a habit all season of bouncing back from disappointments — such as the week in January when, without Kane, they exited both domestic cup competitions in the same week.
However, the manner of the latest defeat did have a terminal feeling about it as Spurs squandered the opportunity to close the gap on Liverpool and City.
“We’ve done it before and that shows the character of the squad, but it would have been nice if we had won this game and built from that,” Kane said.
“We don’t always want to be having to react from a poor result. But we will dust it off.
“we have three massive games to get up for. The motivation is there.”
The odds appear in favour of Spurs enduring another frustrating season without silverware.
Kane admits it has been hard for Tottenham to play their home games at Wembley for two seasons while White Hart Lane is rebuilt.
But he claims the team’s ability to remain in contention during that period deserves praise.
“We’re a team that doesn’t like to make excuses, but at the end of the day we’ve been playing away from home for the last two years,” he said.
“We’ve had a tough time. It is what it is, we’re in the hunt for the Premier League. We’re still in the Champions League, we’re in a good place.
“We’ve been there for the last few years and we’ve got to see if we can take it up another level, whether that’s in the Premier League or Champions League and see if we can really progress.”
