Harry Kane insists Tottenham can use the experience of their Champions League miracle to dig them out of a hole in this year’s competition.
Spurs host Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday, needing a win after taking one point from their opening two group games — a 2-2 draw at Olympiacos and the 7-2 home defeat to Bayern Munich.
Last season, Spurs took a point from their opening three matches, but recovered spectacularly to reach a maiden European Cup Final and Kane says the players know what it takes to stage a comeback in the competition. “We went through an experience in the last campaign and we had fewer points [after two matches] than we do now,” Kane said. “We know it takes a lot of effort to get through a Champions League group. If we can win, it will put us in a better position than last year and we ended up going to the final.
“We have to fight for each other and who knows what’s possible.”
Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Watford leaves Spurs with just three wins from 12 matches and Kane has admitted this is the toughest spell since he broke into the first team. “Yeah, I’d say so,” said the England captain, who has been the first name on Mauricio Pochettino’s team-sheet since shortly after the manager’s appointment in summer 2014.
"It’s not been easy. Of course we all want to be winning games. It’s another challenge in my career and the team’s career. It’s about trying to overcome that. It’s not going to be a straight path to success. At the moment we’re at a bump and we’ve got to overcome that.
“The standards we’ve set over the past four or five years have been very high. We’ve spoken about being ahead of the plan when the gaffer and myself first started. Now when things are not going so well, people are going to wonder why and try to put a finger on it. This season little things haven’t gone our way which in other years might have done. All we can do is work harder.”
Spurs are expected to welcome Giovani Lo Celso back into the squad after two months sidelined with a hip problem, but fellow deadline-day signing Ryan Sessegnon is not expected to feature until next month.
Juan Foyth is pushing for his first appearance of the season in the back four, while Christian Eriksen is available after missing Watford with a dead leg and Ben Davies and Tanguy Ndombele could return to the XI.
