Harry Kane outlines importance of Champions League in Tottenham’s top-four bid

Harry Kane has outlined the importance of him playing in the Champions League as Tottenham launch a late bid to crack the Premier League top four.

The England captain tried to leave Spurs last summer in order to win trophies and play at the highest level following the club’s alarming slide and, after another trophyless season, Kane is unlikely to settle for another year in second or third-tier European competitions.

If Tottenham could qualify for the Champions League – their cause was helped by a 5-0 thumping of Everton on Monday – and they can keep Antonio Conte happy, then they might also be able to keep their star striker content.

Kane, who scored twice in the Everton defeat, has spoken at length about how much he is enjoying working under Conte and has called on his side to “take responsibility” and get back to “where we think the club should be”.

He said: “The manager is a fantastic coach, I’ve said that now on many occasions.

“I really enjoy working with him, so it’s down to us players to take that responsibility. A lot of us want to be playing in the Champions League.

“We haven’t played in it now for a couple of years but it’s where we think the club should be.

“So there’s a lot of hard work to go. It’s not just about one result because we’ve had good results like this, this season already.

“It’s about putting together a run of four, five results in a row. Obviously we’ve got another tough game on Saturday (at Manchester United).

“If we want to move forward as a team, it’s about taking responsibility and we can’t hide away from it.

“Obviously there’s 12 games left now so there’s still a lot of opportunity to pick up points and it’s just down to being more consistent. That’s what we’ve got to try to do until the end of the season.”

Spurs’ chances will be enhanced if Kane can continue his recent form as he produced another dazzling two-goal display.

After a slow start to the season, brought on by his summer transfer saga, Kane is producing the form that saw him win the Golden Boot and Playmaker award last year.

His two goals against Everton moved him above Thierry Henry in the all-time list of Premier League goalscorers with 176 and ending the season could see him overtake Frank Lampard and Sergio Aguero and into the top four.

Worryingly for Premier League defenders, Kane says he has more to give.

“I feel like I’m in a great place. I’m 28 now, I feel like physically I’m in a really good place,” he said.

“I feel mentally, my game understanding and my awareness on the pitch is at a really high level from just gaining experience over the years.

“Antonio has definitely given me more strings to my bow. I’m always someone who tries to improve. When I’m 35, 36 I’ll still be trying to improve.

“That’s just my mindset. But for sure, I’m in a good place. It’s nice to be scoring goals, winning games, helping the team.

“Overall, it’s about working hard, keeping my head down.

“There’s always stuff I can improve on, whether it’s finishing, hold up play, passing – and that’s what I’ll continue to do. But for sure, I feel like there’s more and more to come and I’m excited for that.”