Pochettino lauds “massive” Harry Kane achievement after 5-2 win over Southampton

The day couldn’t have gone any better for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane. Spurs’ striker scored another hat trick on Boxing Day against Southampton — the 11th of his career, and eighth in 2017 — leading his team to a 5-2 win at Wembley Stadium.

Kane has now scored six goals in two games for Spurs, who with the win are fourth in the table (pending Liverpool’s result today), six points out of second place. But Kane’s hatty also helped him to two records:

• Harry has now scored more Premier League goals than any other player in league history in a calendar year with 39 strikes in 2017, eclipsing Alan Shearer’s 22 year old record of 36
• Kane is now Europe’s top scorer in 2017 with 56 goals for club and country, two more than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi

After the match, his manager Mauricio Pochettino was effusive with praise for his star striker.

“Both [records] are massive. To break the Premier League one, set before by Alan Shearer, and then if you see the list in the last seven, eight or nine years, it was always Messi, Cristiano, Messi, Cristiano. Today it is Harry Kane, a player from Tottenham and that is massive. It's a massive achievement and we feel that it's our achievement too, his team-mates, the club and I think it's fantastic. Harry wants to share that happiness with everyone.

“At 24 years old to score those goals. For me, it's not only because he's a massive, massive talent like a striker, it's how he is as a person, a professional. He's amazing and it's a pleasure to work with him every day.”

In the ten years I’ve been a Tottenham Hotspur fan, the most recurring theme that has been in place is the need for a top-drawer striker, something Spurs hadn’t really had since Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov left the club. Now, Spurs not only have the striker that they coveted for so long, but they have quite possibly the best striker in Europe. And he came straight out of Tottenham’s academy. He is, as they sing, “one of our own.”

After his third goal, Spurs’ Son Heung-Min beckoned Kane over and pretended to polish his boots. Sonny understands what it means to play with a player of Kane’s ability. Watching Harry play football is an absolute joy.