Pochettino admits Kane "saved" him as he picks out England star's "problem"

Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that Harry Kane 'saved his career' at the Premier League side.

Pochettino took charge of Spurs in May 2014, but he had a decidedly mixed start to his time in the White Hart Lane dugout. The Argentine won just three of his first nine games after joining Tottenham from Southampton, coming under pressure as a result.

They then travelled to Aston Villa at the start of November, with Kane starting the game on the bench. At the time, he was only just beginning to emerge as a member of Tottenham's first team, with Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor preferred up-front.

But Pochettino saw his side fall behind quickly through Andreas Weimann's strike after 16 minutes. With Spurs struggling to find a way back into the game, Pochettino brought on Kane just before the hour mark.

And the striker duly delivered, with Nacer Chadli firing in an equaliser with six minutes to go, before Kane scored from a free-kick at the death to steal a winner. Now, Pochettino has admitted that goal all but saved his job at Tottenham.

But he did insist that while he is one of the world's best strikers, Kane does have a weakness that opponents can exploit. He cautioned the England skipper to reign in his habit of dropping deep to get on the ball.

HAVE YOUR SAY! What should be England's starting line-up against France? Comment below.

"It was a really, really tough moment for the club. But from that goal on, it started to get easier. People started to understand what we were trying to do, where we wanted to take Tottenham," Pochettino told The Athletic.

"For me, that was a massive, key moment. And when I see Harry now, I still tell him he saved my career, because that goal allowed us to calm down, and got people to believe in our project.

"Ultimately at Spurs we always wanted to see Harry inside the box, because he is a killer there. The problem is when he is constantly dropping into midfield. Sometimes that is because the team needs him.

"But sometimes it is because he wants to get on the ball, rather than being in the box to score goals. So you need the coaching staff to decide on the strategy and game plan. And for me, and my idea of football, when he's in the box, he can be the most helpful.

"Harry is about scoring goals. He can't think that his priority is to be a playmaker. He's not Christian Eriksen, he's Harry Kane. He's one of the best strikers in the world and his main work should be in the box."

That weakness may be something France will attempt to exploit when they take on England in the quarter-finals of the World Cup this Saturday. Kane will captain the Three Lions at the Al-Bayt Stadium, with England looking to win the tournament for the first time since 1966.

Read more

Mirror Football's top stories

Aluko pokes fun after Wright defends her

Eto'o breaks silence on violent clash

Adorable Kane picture comes to light

Son nominated for 2022 fan award