Tottenham: Jamie Redknapp says Harry Kane must start

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has no choice but to put Harry Kane in his starting XI, says Jamie Redknapp.

Kane came off the bench to score a 90th-minute free kick as Tottenham beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Super Sunday to move up to eighth in the Premier League table.

Sky Sports pundit Redknapp says the Londoner ignited a ‘poor’ Spurs performance and must leapfrog fellow strikers Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor.

“Kane is an exceptional talent who works hard on his game and there is absolutely no way Pochettino can leave him out of this team now,” said the former Tottenham man.

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“If you compare him to Adebayor and Soldado there is no comparison.

“When he came on he made a big difference, giving Tottenham a bit of zip and desire, and you could see how much he wanted to play and how much he cared.

“I felt the game was slipping away from Tottenham, who at times were so poor, had no energy, and were going through the motions, but Kane provided that spark and gave everyone a lift.

“I’d be amazed if he doesn’t start next week.”

Judge

Redknapp also thinks the Tottenham hierarchy must be patient with Pochettino, who penned a five-year contract when joining from Southampton over the summer.

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The Sky Sports analyst says the Argentinian does not currently have the players at his disposal to replicate the high-intensity game he adopted at St Mary’s and may have to wait until next season to remedy the issue.

And Redknapp also reckons the position of Spurs’ Technical Director Franco Baldini could come under threat as Pochettino continues his rebuilding process at White Hart Lane.

“Pochettino is going to need to time because a lot of those players are not good enough for where he wants to take the club and you can only judge him when he’s got the players he wants,” said Redknapp.

They are playing at a tempo below where you have to be to win games at the highest level.

“It probably wasn’t the right time in the summer to buy and sell lots of players after they did that at the start of last season, and it might be at the end of this season when he gets four or five in and four or five out.

“But if I was Baldini I’d be nervous after all the players he has bought.”

Redknapp’s fellow pundit Graeme Souness added: “As much as you try to get a player to work hard, I think Pochettino has got players who are resisting at Tottenham.

“They are playing at a tempo below where you have to be to win games at the highest level; if you look at the Villa game, for example, it was pass, pass, pass but it wasn’t zip, zip, zip.

“It was gentle football and they got out jail.”