Ange Postecoglou is maintaining a positive attitude despite the setback of losing Harry Kane. It’s commendable that he’s focusing on his players’ resilience and not allowing the situation to become an excuse
He acknowledged that the absence of Harry Kane just before the season’s commencement was disruptive to his plans. However, he emphasized his pride in his players for not using the departure of the England captain as a justification for any shortcomings.
Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich was finalized just a day before Tottenham’s season opener against Brentford, leaving many Spurs fans wondering how the team would fill the void of his goals. Despite this concern, Postecoglou’s team has managed to score consistently throughout the season, with various attacking players stepping up in Kane’s absence.
Postecoglou mentioned that there hasn’t been much discussion among the players regarding Kane’s departure, highlighting the squad’s ability to adapt to such a significant loss. When asked about Kane, the Tottenham head coach acknowledged the challenge of starting a season without such a key figure at the club.
“I remember making a real conscious effort of… it’s the old duck just looking really graceful above the water and if there’s any panicking happening, make sure it’s under the water where nobody can see, particularly the players. And the players never batted an eyelid – which they could have. Especially when you look at what Harry has done this year. It has been unbelievable.
“You just go ‘gee, that’s a significant player that has left this football club and yet he hasn’t been mentioned as much as he would have been had we not been scoring goals’. His name would have come up a lot more. That’s credit to the group. The playing group, they have embraced that challenge.”
However, Postecoglou insisted that replacing the England captain like-for-like is not possible as there are not any centre-forwards of his calibre around the world.
When asked about replacing Kane’s goals, the 58-year-old said: “That was going to be a big challenge for us because Harry is the best number nine in the world at the moment and he was a consistent goalscorer for this football club in the Premier League. Irrespective of the club’s fluctuations, he always scored goals.
Postecoglou highlighted the challenge of replacing Kane’s contribution, acknowledging that it couldn’t be done directly. Instead, the team had to rely on a collective effort to cover the gap. He praised the players for their efforts but emphasized the need for improvement, particularly in the front third of the pitch.
“You take that out and you’ve got to fill that breach. We were never going to fill that breach with like for like, it was going to have to be a bit of a spread. I think the lads have done a decent job of covering that spread. We had to and have, but I still feel that is the area of the park where we need our biggest amount of improvement, in that front third.