Kane: Defenders are marking me tighter this season

Ian Watson

Harry Kane: Scored two for Tottenham at Villa

Harry Kane insists he wants to become one of the world’s best strikers after getting Tottenham’s title bid back on track. 

The forward’s brace earned a 2-0 win at Aston Villa on Sunday as Spurs moved two points behind Barclays Premier League leaders Leicester.

Tottenham had lost to West Ham and drawn with Arsenal in their previous two league games.

England striker Kane’s goals were his 23rd and 24th of the season for club and country as he spearheads Spurs’ challenge for their first title since 1961.

He is the league’s joint top scorer with 19-goal Jamie Vardy and Kane insisted he wants to be feared after a slow start to the campaign.

“There was a lot of talk at the start of the season but the top players in the world find a way to get around (challenges) and score 20 or 30 goals, season after season,” said the 22-year-old.

“I want to be one of the top strikers and I know I have to find ways to score goals that are different from last season because there is probably more attention than there was last year.

“Defenders get tighter this year. Whenever I get in a position to shoot, there are two or three people trying to block the shot.

“That’s one of the little things I’ve noticed and I definitely see little differences from last season. If you want to be a player scoring goals every year in the Premier League, you have to be able to cope with that.”

Leicester will regain their five-point advantage if they beat struggling Newcastle on Monday while Spurs must try to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit when they host Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League on Thursday.

Kane is likely to be rested at White Hart Lane ahead of Sunday’s visit of Bournemouth but believes they can still progress.

“It is a big mountain to climb but there is no reason we can’t do it. Our performance was disappointing last week but we’ve got nothing to lose now,” he told the Evening Standard.