Tottenham striker Harry Kane hopes head coach Antonio Conte will remain with the club past the end of the season, saying he and his team-mates are enjoying working with the Italian.
Spurs followed up last week's North London derby victory over top-four rivals Arsenal with a 1-0 win against Burnley on Sunday, extending their unbeaten Premier League run to five games as Conte attempts to lead the team to Champions League qualification.
Kane's first-half penalty was enough to seal Tottenham's crucial win over the Clarets, taking the England captain to 20 goals and eight assists in all competitions this season.
The 28-year-old has certainly benefited from Spurs' uplift in form since Conte took the reins in November after Nuno Espirito Santo's sacking. Having earned just five wins and scored nine goals in 10 Premier League games under the former Wolves boss, Tottenham have won 16 of their 27 league matches under the Conte, scoring 55 goals.
However, rumours have suggested Conte could be tempted to move elsewhere at the end of the campaign, with Paris Saint-Germain touted as a possible destination should the former Chelsea boss decide to depart.
Kane, however, told Standard Sport he is enjoying working with Conte and hopes he remains in North London.
Asked whether he thought Conte would still be in the Spurs dugout next season, Kane replied: "I have no idea to be honest, that is his decision.
"But he has worked really hard while he has been here, he's a great guy, a really passionate man so whatever his decision is, you have to respect it. For sure I am enjoying it and I know the boys are enjoying working with him.
"I have said I am a big fan of his and we get on really well, so of course, it would be great for the club if he stays.
"But like I have said that is his decision, he's his own man, and I'm sure he will talk to the club and decide on his future. From our point of view, we are all enjoying working with him."
Kane's admiration for Conte's work will be music to the ears of Tottenham fans after their star striker failed to force through a move to Manchester City just under a year ago.
Meanwhile, Kane says he is pleased with the progress shown by Spurs since Conte's appointment, highlighting their need to be more consistent after enduring frustrating periods under previous bosses Nuno and Jose Mourinho.
"There is still a lot of work to do," he added. "I think the improvement has definitely been there since the gaffer came in to where we are now.
"It shows it can be done in a short space of time, but obviously we will see what happens over the summer and look forward to the next season with a great manager. Hopefully we've learnt a lot since he's been here.
"We had some good times with Jose, we were top of the league for the first few months of the [2020-21] season, we have had spells where we were really good but it is about doing that on a consistent basis over a whole season in all competitions, and not just in the Premier League.
"That is where we have got to get better and learn from [Conte], and for sure the last few months have been a big improvement."
Xavi commits U-turn and elects to stay at Barcelona
Barcelona head coach Xavi will continue in his role next season after an unexpected reversal of his decision to leave at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, according to widespread reports.
The former Barcelona midfielder announced in January that he would walk away from the job at the end of the current season, even though his contract was due to run until the end of the following term.
Xavi acknowledged the Barcelona role had taken its toll but reportedly changed his plans after a meeting with Blaugrana president Joan Laporta on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old was initially appointed as Barca coach in 2021 before leading the LaLiga giants to the top-flight title in the 2022-23 campaign.
Xavi's initial announcement of his intentions to depart Barcelona came after a tough period following defeats to Girona, Real Madrid and Athletic Club before revealing the news in the aftermath of a 5-3 loss to Villarreal.
The Blaugrana turned their fortunes around after that decision became public, though, going 13 games unbeaten across all competitions.
Unsurprisingly, that run encouraged Laporta, vice president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco to plead with Xavi to continue until the end of his agreed contract.
Though that undefeated streak ended with a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain that dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League quarter-finals, Xavi has now agreed to stay in his role.
The league title is almost out of reach this term, however, as Real Madrid moved 11 points clear of second-placed Barca with Sunday's 3-2 Clasico victory.
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
Grant McCann hails ‘outstanding’ response as Doncaster close on play-off spot
Grant McCann was a proud man after Doncaster won 4-1 at Colchester to register a 10th straight victory and move into the play-off places.
Colchester took a ninth-minute lead through Jayden Fevrier, who converted Tom Hopper’s cross at the far post, but remain in relegation danger after Rovers’ emphatic comeback.
Luke Molyneux equalised after collecting Jamie Sterry’s short free-kick and scoring with a low 25-yard shot and Doncaster took a 22nd-minute lead through Harrison Biggins, who netted from close range from Molyneux’s delivery.
Tom Anderson netted a third in the 76th minute at the near post from Hakeeb Adelakun’s pass, and Joe Ironside sealed victory when he converted after Sam Hornby had tipped James Maxwell’s shot onto a post.
A point on the final day against Gillingham will seal a play-off spot regardless of results elsewhere and McCann said: “I’m really proud.
“Obviously conceding early wasn’t ideal for us but the response was outstanding.
“We scored two very good goals, the first one from Mols (Molyneux) and the second one was another very good goal and something we knew could help us in the game, Biggo’s (Biggins) runs from the centre circle in between the posts after good play by Mols.
“In the first half, we were a little bit edgy and it was a little bit even Steven in the game.
“But in the second half, we were really comfortable and scored another couple of really good goals.
“We always play for more goals; we never sit tight and take what we’ve got – that’s just the way we like to go about things.
“We came up against a team that’s obviously down the wrong end of the table and we knew it was going to be tough.”
Fevrier had Colchester on track to secure survival but they go into Saturday’s final game just three points above the drop zone, with their goal difference superior by four over Sutton.
Colchester boss Danny Cowley said: “It was a tough night for us.
“We have the ability to self-harm, to self-destruct, in a game where we let four terrible goals in.
“For 75 minutes, it was 2-1 and they’ve had three shots at goal, two from 30 yards, and somehow they’re winning the game.
“We were 2-1 down at half-time where we felt we shouldn’t have been, as we’d done a lot right.
“We were in total ascendency and they don’t even want to score any more goals, they want to hang onto what they’ve got and we gift them another two goals.
“I’ve just looked back at the goals and they’re very hard to defend.
“We actually played well box to box but you can’t say you’ve played well when we’ve conceded the goals that we have.
“It’s a damaging night and I’m really angry. We just did the basics so poorly.”
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