Phillips backs Tottenham man to ‘come good’ after criticism

Former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips says Harry Kane will soon turn things around at Tottenham.

The England captain struggled on Sunday as Chelsea completed a 3-0 London derby victory.

Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger all got on the scoresheet for Thomas Tuchel’s men.

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Kane barely threatened Chelsea in the second half. He is yet to find the net in four Premier League matches so far.

His performance also received criticism from Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. The former defender said Kane looked ‘despondent’ and that ‘alarm bells’ should be ringing for Tottenham chiefs.

But Phillips has downplayed rumours that this summer’s transfer saga has affected Kane.

He told Football Insider: “I’m sure it will come good for Kane. He can have slow starts to seasons and then bang, all of a sudden he hits form. Before you know it he will be the top scorer in the league again.

“I have no issues with him after what happened in the summer with Manchester City. I don’t think that’s having an effect on his performances.

“A little bit of it will be him adapting his game as he gets older which frustrates me in truth. I want to see him on the last man, running in behind and scoring goals. I’m less keen on him playing in a deeper role but as players get older that tends to be the case.

“There should be no worries about Kane. Spurs will create opportunities. Kane just needs to get himself into the box more.

“I have no doubt he’ll be at the top of the goalscoring charts come the end of the season.”

Reacting to the Chelsea defeat, Nuno Espirito Santo told reporters: “There were a lot of things that went wrong. Let’s start with the first half – I think it was a good game, competitive. We were on the the front foot, started pressing high, creating problems and had chances.

“In the second half, the set-piece and goal changes the game. Then it becomes much harder, the game totally changed and Chelsea took control and were the better team in the second half.

“It’s difficult, but I’m proud of the first half and of all the game because we had troubles in team and the players went to their limits.”