Harry Kane has claimed it was a "difficult week" in Antonio Conte's absence but the Tottenham team made him proud following their 1-0 win over Man City. With Conte back in his home country recuperating after having his gallbladder removed on Wednesday, assistant head coach Cristian Stellini led the side to a memorable victory against the reigning champions.
Kane was the hero after scoring the winning goal fifteen minutes into the contest, with his strike seeing him become Tottenham's all-time top goalscorer in the process as he moved one ahead of Jimmy Greaves after netting his 267th for the Lilywhites. Upon returning to the changing room following the 1-0 win, Kane and the rest of the Tottenham team did speak to a very proud Conte following a unforgettable evening in N17.
"He was on the phone there and he just kind of congratulated me for the achievement and just said he was proud of all the boys," revealed Kane. "It's not easy when you don't have your coach there. It's obviously been a difficult week, we're all happy the surgery went well and he's recovering well.
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"Whenever you haven't got your coach there, it's never easy. We showed today we're a unit, a team. I'm sure he was watching proud. It was the type of performance where we knew what we had to do. It wasn't going to be easy at times. We had to dig deep and really suffer and be together.
"I thought throughout the whole team everyone showed 110% commitment. I'm sure the gaffer was proud and we can be proud of that."
The win over Man City ensured that Pep Guardiola's wretched record at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium continued as they fell to a fifth successive defeat and once again failed to score at Spurs' home. Bouncing back from their 4-2 loss against the champions just over two weeks ago by defeating Fulham and Preston North End, Kane believes they have now set the standards for the rest of the season.
"Yeah. After the City away game when we conceded four in the second half, I spoke about how we had a chat amongst ourselves and spoke about getting back to what we're good at, being compact, and we did that against Fulham away. And we did that again tonight," said the 29-year-old.
"That's the standard - if we can do it against one of the best teams in the league, we can do it against anyone. So they are the standards we've set now. We need to try not to fall below them in any game. Clean sheets are really important. They win games. We feel like we've got enough firepower to score goals and from top to bottom we've got to make sure we keep the ball out of the net."
Sunday's win over Man City will forever be remembered in the history books for Kane becoming Tottenham's all-time top goalscorer. His 267 Tottenham goals include some memorable strikes, perhaps most notably against Arsenal at White Hart Lane, but his latest one is now right up there for the striker.
"It's hard to say," said the England captain when asked about his favourite Tottenham goal. "A couple against Arsenal at old White Hart Lane. In my first north London derby, the header, and then the one where I bent it in from the left, post and in. Those two stick in my memory for sure.
"There's been some good ones over the years. The one today was right up there, just the atmosphere and occasion. A special goal and a special night to get three points."
Not only did Kane write his name into the Tottenham record books on Sunday, he also joined Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney in surpassing 200 Premier League goals. Sixty behind Shearer's landmark Premier League total, the Spurs ace will be eyeing that up as his next target.
"I'm sure you guys will be talking about that. It's always there in the back of my mind but I just take it game by game, season by season," he admitted. "It's definitely there to be broken and I'm feeling good and feeling fit so we'll see what happens. I'll enjoy this night tonight and just full focus on Saturday."
On scoring his 200 Premier League goals with just the one club, he added: "It's been an amazing journey. I've been here since I was 11 years old, it's 18 years of my life. A lot of hard work and dedication.
"I'm extremely proud to represent this club and score 267 goals for them and 200 Premier League goals for them is something I'll never take for granted. I've just got to keep it going, score as many as I can and see what happens from there."
It was something Kane could never have imagined after scoring his maiden Tottenham goal in a Europa League tie against Shamrock Rovers back in 2011.
"Absolutely not. I dreamed of playing for Tottenham but I don't think you ever think about records," he confessed. "Being Tottenham's all-time top goalscorer is not something I was thinking about back then. It was just about trying to get in the team and play and when I did it was just about trying to be consistent and perform every year, improve every year.
"I'm still only 29 so I still feel like I've got room for improvement and that's what I'll try to do for the rest of my career."
Many will see Kane's double against Chelsea on New Year's Day in 2015 as the moment when he sent a message to the rest of the Premier League. Scoring two outstanding goals after establishing himself as Mauricio Pochettino's main Tottenham striker, the goals have continued to flow for him in a Spurs and England shirt ever since.
"I felt like that game was an important one," outlined Kane. "Chelsea at the time were one of the best teams in Europe, they were top of the Premier League. I'd done well before then, I'd scored goals against other teams but I hadn't done it against a big team yet. And not just my goals but the whole performance, it was one of my best performances in a Spurs shirt.
"That gave me the confidence I needed to know that I could do it against any team, on any stage. That was the moment that I felt like, 'OK, I'm here to stay'. I just had to make sure I was consistent and stayed working hard, and that's what I've tried to do."
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