Harry Kane has revealed Monday’s crunch talks with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy revolved around the possibility of the club finishing eighth or ninth after he admitted the Newcastle result had been building since last month.
Levy sacked Cristian Stellini following Sunday’s 6-1 thrashing at St James’ Park and consulted Spurs’ player committee, which is understood to comprise captain Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Kane.
Stellini had only been acting head coach for four matches after he stepped up to replace Antonio Conte, who departed a week after his explosive post-match comments at Southampton where he was critical of his own “selfish players” who he insisted did not want to play under pressure.
Kane, speaking after Thursday’s spirited 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United, hinted for the first time the impact Conte’s words had on the squad.
“The chairman asked for a meeting. Obviously I won’t go into what was said but I think it was important (for him) to understand where the players’ heads were at in that moment,” Kane said.
“Obviously coming off the back of that (Newcastle) result and it wasn’t just that result, it had been building up since the international break when we conceded the two goals against Southampton.
“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.
“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.
“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 was applauded off at full-time along with the rest of his team-mates on Thursday night but the atmosphere had threatened to turn toxic when Marcus Rashford added to Jadon Sancho’s early opener to make it 2-0 to United at the break.
It left Ryan Mason, in his second caretaker spell in charge, with a big half-time team talk but the 31-year-old exuded calm and saw Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min net in the second period to help Tottenham restore some pride after Sunday’s humiliation in the north east.
Kane added: “It was quite calm. Ryan said not to try to get back in the game in the first five minutes of the second half.
“He said, ‘there’s another 45 minutes, be compact, be ready to hurt them like we did in the first half but now we have to be more clinical’.
“We all said once we get one, we know we can really put pressure on them and that’s what happened. A shame we couldn’t then get the third but overall, when you’re 2-0 down, it was good to get a point out of it.
“I think Ryan’s been great. He’s come in at a really difficult time after that defeat and he’s not had long to implement any style, so it’s all been about motivation and getting some belief back in the boys.
“I’ve known Ryan a long, long time. He’s a great football brain. He sees the game in a really good way, he’s worked under some fantastic managers so far.
“So look, we’re all fully behind him. We really want to work for him and try to finish the season as strong as we can.
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“And he’s a great guy and a great manager. Hopefully we can finish strong and see what happens.”
The Tottenham players reimbursed the away support at Newcastle and while Kane knows it will not make up for the result, he praised their support during Thursday’s draw with United.
“When you travel that far and you’re 5-0 down in 20 minutes, it’s not acceptable on any level,” Kane accepted.
“So, we know it wasn’t going to magically change their feelings or make the result any better but it was still something as a group we wanted to do to try to show we’re all together in this moment.
“And I thought the fans were amazing.”
Kane did not only receive support from the Spurs supporters on Thursday, with the United away following singing they would see him in June amid speculation over his future with just 14 months left on his contract.
But the Tottenham vice-captain insisted: “I heard what they were saying but I’m just focused on this team and trying to finish strongly.”
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior
Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.
Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.
The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.
"Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.
"We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.
"Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."
Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.
Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.
"He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.
"When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.
"Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."
Ancelotti: Real Madrid are never 'undervalued' in the Champions League
Real Madrid always feel respected by every team in the Champions League, so says coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Madrid overcame holders Manchester City on penalties in the quarter-finals to tee up a last-four clash with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
City dominated much of the second leg in Manchester, yet after a 4-4 draw on aggregate, it was Ancelotti's team who got over the line.
Fourteen-time European champions Madrid, who allowed Karim Benzema to leave for Saudi Arabia at the end of last season, were not fancied to get past City, but Ancelotti does not think his team have been undervalued in this year's competition.
"Madrid is never undervalued in this competition, because everyone knows what we can do," he said.
"We feel respect from everyone."
City's Bernardo Silva called Madrid a "strange" team, a comment that left Ancelotti nonplussed.
"I don't know. We are not strange," he added.
"I think the weight of the shirt weighs in this competition, like history, but I have nothing to answer Bernardo Silva with.
"He is a fantastic player. Last year [City] had a good time and this year we had a good time. That's football."
When it was put to him that Madrid go into this tie as favourites, Ancelotti replied: "It does not worry me. We have confidence to stand up to a team that has not had a great Bundesliga season, but has knocked out Arsenal.
"It comes from eliminating a very strong team in Europe. In the Champions League, history counts a lot and that works in our favour."
Ancelotti has faced Thomas Tuchel nine times in his career, winning three of those games, losing four and drawing twice, and the Italian anticipates another stern test.
He said: "In terms of quality, they are strong in transition, they can play in different ways and are very dangerous. We are two who do not have a very clear identity. We can both play in different ways."
Tuesday's first leg also marks a return to Munich for Ancelotti, who coached Bayern between 2016 and 2017.
"It is very beautiful, a fantastic city, although unfortunately German has never entered my head," Ancelotti said.
"My son did, he learned very well. Munich is a spectacular city to live in."
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