Harry Kane has urged Tottenham’s players to ‘give everything’ after an unsettled start to the new season amid transfer speculation.
Several of the club’s leading stars were linked with a moves away from North London throughout the summer, with the futures of midfielder Christian Eriksen and defender Toby Alderweireld particularly uncertain as the duo approach the finals months of their respective contracts.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have begun the new season in indifferent form, losing to Leicester City last week to sit seventh in the Premier League after six games, before suffering a humiliating midweek Carabao Cup exit on penalties to League Two outfit Colchester United.
With the transfer window now closed as the future of Spurs’ stars decided until January at least, Kane has called on the squad to ‘give everything’ as they bid to turn their recent form around.
“Obviously in the transfer window just gone, there were players who maybe wanted to leave, and it was public knowledge that there were players close to leaving who stayed,” Kane said in an interview with Sky Sports.
“So it’s never easy when you have a situation like that, but now that’s closed, we all just want to move in the right direction.
"If you're good enough, you're old enough" – but how far can that adage be stretched? @thenoveltyact writes: https://t.co/LJxmgCrwN3
— Football Faithful (@FootyFaithful_) September 27, 2019
“Whoever is on the pitch has to give everything for the club, that’s all we can ask for. You have to kind of put your individual needs to one side and make sure you’re performing to the highest level, because that will help your individual status anyway.”
Inconsistency has plagued Tottenham Hotspur in the early weeks of the new season, the defeats to Leicester and Colchester coming off the back of an impressive 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Kane admits it is difficult to find reason for the club’s recent showings, and ahead of this weekend’s clash with Southampton, the England captain says the club are looking for a positive performance as they bid to build momentum.
“It’s hard to put a finger on it,” he added. “We feel like we’re training well, doing everything right, but maybe we haven’t started games with the right energy.
“The [Crystal] Palace game was the best example of how we should start; on the front foot and pressing, ruthless with chances, and that’s what we’ve done in previous seasons, especially at home.
“We just need to find a way to get that good feeling back. We just need to get off that form, start fresh, get off to winning ways on Saturday and take that momentum forward.”
Read: Pochettino eyeing January ‘fix’ as Spurs humbled by League Two Colchester
See Also: Five of the biggest League Cup upsets in the competition’s history