London: Harry Kane says Tottenham’s appointment of Antonio Conte to replace the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo shows “great ambition” from the Premier League club.
The Italian, named as the new Spurs boss earlier this week, won his first game in charge on Thursday as they beat Vitesse Arnhem 3-2 in the Europa Conference League.
Ex-Wolves boss Nuno was dismissed after just four months in charge at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following five defeats in the club’s opening 10 Premier League games, with last weekend’s limp defeat to Manchester United proving the final straw.
Kane has also been misfiring this season, with just one league goal in nine appearances, but the England captain is relishing the prospect of working with former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan boss Conte.
“I am a player that always believes in myself and always believes in my ability,” said Kane. “I am 28 years old, I have still got a lot to learn, a lot to improve on.
“It’s not been the start I wanted, the team wanted or the club wanted so we all know that. We all have to take responsibility for it as players.
“It is not something I am worried about, I will keep working and I am really excited about working with this manager.”
Kane, who has struggled since his attempt to engineer a move to Manchester City after Euro 2020 was rebuffed, described Conte, 52, as a “fantastic manager” and praised his appointment.
“It shows great ambition to be honest,” said the forward. “His resume speaks for itself. Everyone knows how highly thought of he is and what he has done as a manager in the game.
“You have to respect that. He will work as hard as he can to improve us as players but it is about us as players, taking it in, learning, doing more on the pitch, doing more in training, doing more away from training, whether it is recovery, making sure we give ourselves every opportunity to win.
“We have a manager and a club that believe in us. He definitely brings a lot of passion, a lot of determination, whether that’s on the training pitch or in meetings, in the dressing room.”
Conte’s first Premier League game in charge is away at Everton on Sunday. The Goodison Park club are in 10th spot, a point behind Spurs. — AFP
