Kane: Spurs’ FA Cup loss “frustrating,” refuses to blame ankle

The fallout continues from Tottenham Hotspur’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United on Saturday, and with seven days until Spurs have a chance to rebound against Watford, it’s all gloom and doom.

I guess if there’s a positive to come from this it’s the knowledge that, no matter how bad we fans feel, the players are equally if not more disappointed. Harry Kane is certainly at a loss to explain why Spurs keep seeming to come up short when it comes to winning silverware.

“There’s obviously a reason why we’re falling short in the semi-finals, or in the big games. So we have to do better. I wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly what it is. But it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating personally, it’s frustrating for the team. But yeah, we just have to find our way around it.

“It’s annoying. It’s hard to put a finger on why. But we weren’t good enough. It was an even game. They got their noses in front and that was the end of it.”

“Annoying” is certainly accurate. My emotions have wrapped around from shock to anger disappointment and have now faded to a persistent background level of annoyance.

I’ve beat this drum before, but winning things is really stinkin’ hard, and it’s really hard to shake a reputation for not winning things... until you do. I’m not really a believer in the whole “winner’s mentality” thing, though there’s certainly evidence that it might be something tangible, if not measurable.

Kane also tried to rubbish talk that his somewhat lackluster performance had something to do with his rehabilitated ankle, or that he came back from his injury too soon.

“That’s people’s opinion. People are always going to look for something to say when maybe you’re not firing at your best. At the end of the day, I’ve still scored two in my last four, it’s not the worst in the world.

“But when you set standards, people are going to look for things when you’re not at them. I’m the same. I want to be better, I want to do better.

”I feel good. I feel sharp. It’s been a tough week, a tough week for the team. The Manchester City game, frustrating against Brighton and obviously frustrating today. For me personally, can I do better? Probably, yeah. Can the team do better? Yeah. So it’s a collective effort. We’ll all be disappointed today, as will I.

”But all we can do is try and secure the Champions League.”

I don’t know what’s wrong with Spurs. Truthfully, I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with Spurs at all! Spurs’ recent losses have come against a very good City team pushing for a title, and a Mourinho-coached United that’s in second in a knock-out tournament, with a road draw against relegation-threatened Brighton with a rotated squad. Troubling, certainly, but nothing that a big home win over Watford can’t put right.