Antonio Conte praised for correcting Jose Mourinho’s Harry Kane mistake

Kane has scored in both of Tottenham Hotspur’s last two Premier League games, with Conte receiving praise for his work in getting the best out of the England captain

Antonio Conte has been praised for correcting a mistake made by Jose Mourinho that has helped to turn around the form of Tottenham and England captain Harry Kane.

Kane struggled at the start of the season, taking six games to register his first goal or assist in the Premier League, with Spurs’ form also nose-diving after his return to the starting line-up.

Despite that wretched form, Kane kept his place when Conte replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in the hotseat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though the Englishman continued to struggle for goals.

But with Conte approaching the end of his second month in charge of Tottenham, the Italian manager is finally beginning to get the best out of his star striker.

HAVE YOUR SAY! How would you rate Antonio Conte’s first two months in charge of Spurs? Comment below.

That turnaround started last Sunday when Kane latched onto a through-ball from Tanguy Ndombele to slot the ball past Alisson and open the scoring against Liverpool.

He continued to provide a threat throughout that game and arguably should have come away with more than just a single goal.

Kane backed up that performance with another goalscoring display against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.

He swept in Lucas Moura’s squared pass to open the scoring against Palace, setting Conte’s men on their way to a comfortable win.

It was a performance that also showcased the difference that playing under Conte has made to Kane’s game, with the striker playing much higher than he did under Mourinho’s management.

And former Spurs star Peter Crouch believes that move from Conte has helped to get the best out of Kane and the rest of the Spurs team.

“It’s definitely been better since Conte’s been in and I just want to highlight Harry Kane playing higher,” he told BT Sport.

“I think it helps, as good as he is dropping deep, I think if you play Harry Kane high you give Ndombele the chance to play from deep.

“He can pick his pass look to feed Kane which is where you want him. What you want is Harry Kane in the box, being an attacking threat.”

Conte himself has admitted that he is delighted to be able to call upon a player of the calibre of Kane, who finished as the Premier League ’s top scorer last season.

The Italian was also annoyed his Spurs side had not beaten Palace by more after the visitors saw Wilfred Zaha sent off.

“We started a bit slow but created chances to score. We improved the quality and the intensity and scored twice and, for sure, when we played against 10 men it was easier,” he told BBC Sport.

“We could have scored more but there were a lot of positive things. Now we have to recover and make the best decision around our starting 11 for Southampton.

“I always say we are talking about a top-class striker and a player that for us is very important.

“Today I had the possibility to give him a bit of rest and for him to play only 60 minutes for us it was important. Kane is a player it is very difficult to decide to put in a rotation.”

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