Harry Kane feels he is performing at his best ever level at Tottenham thanks to the influence of Jose Mourinho and a mindset within the squad “to do whatever it takes to get the job done”.
The 27-year-old has already been directly involved in 23 goals in all competitions for Spurs this season, taking his record to an eye-watering 201 goals in 301 appearances for his boyhood club.
Those goalscoring feats have yet to translate into trophies at Tottenham, but this could be the campaign when promise turns into silverware judging by the way things have started.
Serial winner Mourinho’s Spurs spent the international break second in the Premier League standings and the future looks bright in north London.
“We’ve got a long, long way to go,” Kane told the PA news agency. “A long old season.
“I think, as proven in my career so far, it takes a lot to get over the line. We haven’t quite done that yet.
“We’ve been close a few times so we know there’s going to be a lot of hard work from now until then to do that.
“It’s been a good start. Obviously we lost the first game against Everton which was disappointing, but since then we’ve been unbeaten in the league.
“Even the dropped points we had against West Ham and Newcastle with last minute goals should have been wins from our point of view.
“Look, we’re playing well. I still think that we can improve and get better but obviously we’re second in the league.
“We’re in November, there’s still a lot of games to play, but we’re in a good spot.”
Tottenham have a tough-looking schedule coming up after the international break, which Mourinho spent plotting how to kick on through the frantic festive period.
Some expressed concerns about how Kane would fare under the Portuguese, but the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss has helped take his game up a further notch by allowing him to operate more in the number 10 role.
“It’s been great to have him just at the training ground, on the training field,” said Kane, who is supporting the Football Shirt Friday event on November 20 that helps fund the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK’s life-saving research into bowel cancer.
“Just learning and seeing how he goes about his business, seeing how he deals with different situations and problems, so that’s all been great to learn.
“I think he saw in my game that I like to drop deep so he made it clear to the others – like Sonny, Stevie, Bale, Lamela, Lucas, all these players – that if I do drop deep then they need to be the ones running in behind.
“I think that’s been the real difference. It’s allowed me to create space and get the ball but have an option going forward as well.
“Yeah, he’s been great and I look forward to obviously the months ahead and getting on really well.”
Asked whether the move into a number 10 role could help prolong his career, Kane said: “Yeah, but I think obviously I’ve still been playing as a nine as well and I think that’s the beauty of what’s been working well this season.
“I’m still a number nine, I can still run in behind, I still hold up the ball, I still bring others into play.
“But then obviously I can drop deep into them little holes as well, so for a defender difficult to know what to do – whether to come and stay with me or stay in their position.
“Look, I’m still 27 so I’m not really thinking about prolonging my career at the moment.
“But, for me, it’s just about performing every week and I feel like I’m doing that probably at the highest I’ve ever done it.”
Kane’s performances are being matches by those of long-term team-mate Son Heung-min, with the pair’s symbiotic relationship benefiting Spurs in some style.
“I think we’re both at a stage in our careers where we want to be winning stuff – we want to be doing everything to win,” the England captain said.
“We’re both a little bit older, so we’re both probably becoming leaders in the team and Sonny’s definitely taken that role and responsibility on as well.
“We both know our abilities really well as we’ve played with each other for a long time now.
“I think this season for a lot of us was just time to step up, time to do whatever it takes to get the job done and obviously so far so good.
“Sonny’s been finishing a lot of the chances, scoring a lot of goals, creating a lot of chances, so from our point of view, from a team point of view, that’s great.
“If we’re scoring two or three goals a game, then obviously we should be winning the majority of them.”
:: Fans are encouraged to wear their favourite shirt with pride at home, work or school on November 20 as part of Football Shirt Friday and donate £5 to the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK. For more information visit www.bobbymoorefund.org
