Harry leads from the front

Harry Kane said he relished being the elder statesman for a change in Monday night’s Under-21s fixture against Everton.

The 20-year-old striker captained our side as we battled to a goalless draw with Everton – and was seen as one of the senior players in a relatively young starting 11, along with goalkeeper Jordan Archer and left-back Zeki Fryers.

Harry led from the front, testing Everton goalkeeper Mason Springthorpe on a couple of occasions, and he admitted afterwards that being a senior figure in our starting XI is not something he’s previously been used to.

“It’s the first time I’ve been the eldest in a team I’ve played in for a while to be fair,” said the England Under-21 striker. “I’ve been around for a while now so I know these games and I’ve got to show the maturity which I did today – me and Jordan especially.

“I’ve always been one of the young ones but the young lads tonight, they all applied themselves brilliantly.

“I believe you’ve got to apply yourself right for every game and you’ve got to show the young lads coming through how it should be done and they can learn from that. That applies to every game, especially when you’re the mature ones in the team.”

Harry’s showing for the Under-21s came just over 48 hours after he was introduced as a late substitute in our Premier League draw at Hull City – his third top flight appearance of the season.

He’s made eight senior appearances in all competitions in 2013-14 to date – and he’s keen to build on that as we reach a crucial stage in the campaign.

“You’ve just got to keep working hard, keep yourself fit in games like this and try to impress the manager in training,” Harry assessed. “That’s all you can do. Obviously the gaffer knows me from taking this team, so I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing and try and push on and hopefully get some game time.

“Hopefully I can get a few chances, take a few and get some goals – and just get as much experience as I can at the moment to keep pushing forward.”