Tottenham vs Manchester United: Harry Kane confident now Spurs are finally rid of inferiority complex

Harry Kane believes that Tottenham are adjusting to the mental challenge of going into big games as favourites. Spurs play Manchester United at Wembley this Sunday with a 10-point gap between the two sides in the Premier League table, and heavily backed by pundits and bookmakers.

It’s still a relatively novel sensation for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, but Kane said that while United still had the clear edge in terms of history and trophies, Tottenham now go into these games with the expectation and not simply the hope of winning.

“Over the last few years we have turned that around,” said Kane, currently the Premier League’s joint-top scorer with 14 goals. “We were always the ones going into these games as the underdog. Now some of these games we are going into as favourites, especially at home. Manchester United have been in great form. They’ve won the last five or so. It’ll be another tough game.”

Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday night, despite not being at their best, was a prime example of their new-found assurance against the other members of the so-called Big Six.

“We feel confident against the bigger teams,” Kane said. “We know we can play with the ball, and we know we can dig deep like we did against Chelsea, and catch teams on the counter-attack. We’re going to need both those attributes on Sunday.”

United have indeed won all five of their games under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has introduced a more attacking style of play against admittedly weaker opposition.

“United will try to play with a lot of energy, because they haven’t played midweek,” Kane continued. “We have to make sure we match that. When we match their intensity, keep the ball and make it hard for them, that’s when we can do damage.”

Certainly there is little evidence of the inferiority complex that so often used to bedevil Tottenham in these sorts of fixtures. Not since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson have United recorded an away win against Tottenham: a 3-1 triumph at White Hart Lane seven years ago in which Paul Scholes played in midfield and Brad Friedel started in goal for Tottenham. United’s 2-1 victory in last season’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley was technically a neutral fixture.

“Man United have an amazing history and have won so many titles, a lot more than Tottenham have,” Kane admitted.

“What we have done as a team over the last three or four years, with Mauricio and the staff, is to change the perception of Spurs. We are not young any more. We are at the stage now where we have a mature team. It’s important we keep ourselves at this high level. I know that the teams around us know it’s difficult to play us, and we have to use that to our advantage.”