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Tottenham striker Harry Kane said he held an “honest conversation” with chairman Daniel Levy on Monday to try to revive the club’s season.
Interim boss Cristian Stellini was sacked later that day and replaced with first-team coach Ryan Mason.
“I think it was important [for Levy] to understand where the players’ heads were at in that moment,” said Kane.
“It was an honest conversation of where everyone is at and what we need to try to do to give us the best possible chance to finish the season with something.”
Kane added that he felt the Newcastle result had been “building up” since Tottenham conceded two late goals in a 3-3 draw against Southampton last month, a result that led to the departure of previous manager Antonio Conte.
The north London club fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United in Mason’s first game back in charge on Thursday to stay fifth in the table, six points outside the top four.
“We’re still fighting for fourth place but if it’s not fourth, we’ll try to finish fifth or sixth – as high up as we can,” added Kane.
“In this league, it’s so competitive, you can easily end up eighth or ninth if you’re not careful. That’s what it was – to give us the best chance and I’m glad we reacted like that.”
Kane would not comment on speculation about his future despite Manchester United fans singing they would “see him in June” during Thursday’s match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Kane, who was the subject of interest from Manchester City in 2021, is about to enter the final 12 months of his Spurs contract and has been linked with a summer move to Old Trafford.
“I heard what they were saying but I’m just focused on this team and trying to finish strongly,” he said.
‘Kane one of the best in the world’
Meanwhile, interim boss Mason has labelled Kane “one of the best and most intelligent players in the world”.
The 29-year-old is the club’s all-time top scorer with 274 goals in 430 appearances having moved ahead of Jimmy Greaves in February.
He also overtook Wayne Rooney to become England’s all-time top scorer with his 54th international goal against Italy last month.
“This country probably doesn’t appreciate how good Kane is from a footballer point of view. He’s incredible,” said Mason, who was also a team-mate of Kane during his playing days.
“Watching him live, this country should appreciate we’ve got a real special talent. We’re talking about one of the best, most intelligent players in the world.”
