Tottenham vs Aston Villa: Harry Kane left out of Spurs match-day squad to be with newly-born daughter
Kane was due to be on the bench for the game at White Hart Lane but Mauricio Pochettino decided to leave him out after seeing how tired the 23-year-old was earlier today
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Your support makes all the difference.Mauricio Pochettino left Harry Kane out of Tottenham’s FA Cup defeat of Aston Villa this afternoon after the birth of England striker’s daughter earlier this morning.
Kane was due to be on the bench for the game at White Hart Lane but Pochettino decided to leave him out after seeing how tired the 23-year-old was earlier today. Kane’s partner Kate Goodland gave birth to a girl, Ivy Jane Kane, at 7.30 on Sunday morning.
“We send from here a big hug to Kate, his partner,” Pochettino said after the win. “It was a difficult night for her. They have a beautiful girl, but Harry was more tired than his partner. His face was terrible, but now he’s ok. We sent him to sleep. He was at hospital all night waiting. It is fantastic, and very good news for our family.”
Vincent Janssen started up front for Spurs and was taken off after an hour in which he again looked short of form and fitness. Pochettino admitted afterwards that Janssen is “struggling”. This was his 10th start and 23rd appearance but he still has just three goals, all from the penalty spot. “It’s true that he’s struggling but it’s difficult,” he said. “If you look again the game against Chelsea both strikers struggled in the first half. When you don’t have space it’s difficult.”
“He’s young, from a different league, he needs to adapt, work hard and not be frustrated. We push our players a lot and we will push him to the level we need for the team.”
Pochettino was full of praise for Harry Winks after the 20-year-old midfielder ran the game in his seventh start for Tottenham. Winks played alongside Eric Dier in Spurs’ 3-4-3 and excelled with his speed and passing in the middle of the pitch. “He was fantastic,” Pochettino said. “He is working very hard. He’s a special player too. It will only take time for him to achieve big things. He knows the key is to work hard and good mentality.”
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce said that he hoped he could reignite the career of Gabriel Agbonlahor who made just his third start of the season. Agbonlahor fell out of favour with Roberto Di Matteo but is now back in contention for Villa. “I knew we would lose strikers in January,” Bruce said, “so at the back of my mind was to say that whatever has happened in the past we’ve got him in some sort of shape. He lasted well and was a threat. It’s up to him to grasp the opportunity. Can I reignite Gabby? In three months I’ve been there he’s done everything possible to resurrect after a difficult time for him.”
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