Premier League: Harry Kane assured over Tottenham future by Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has assured striker Harry Kane over his future at the club.

Kane, 21, has been in excellent form in the cup competitions this season, scoring six goals, including a hat-trick against Asteras Tripolis in the Europa League last week.

The youth team graduate is yet to make a start in the Premier League however, featuring five times as a substitute, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado preferred despite scoring just four goals between them.

But ahead of Spurs’ Capital One Cup clash against Brighton on Wednesday, Pochettino said: “Harry is a very important player and I am sure he will stay with us for a long time.

“I am head coach and I have to make decisions on selection. I have to analyse the situation and pick different players.

“Harry shares a position with other players in the squad and all the players have the opportunity to play and to show themselves.

“There will be many changes tomorrow and maybe Harry will be in the first eleven.”

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Tottenham have been widely criticised after throwing away a half-time lead at home to Newcastle on Sunday, conceding just seven seconds after the restart, and eventually lost the game 2-1 .

Sky Sports expert Gary Neville told Monday Night Football that Spurs have often been too easy to beat and Pochettino admitted this is something he is trying to change.

“In pre-season we pushed the players a lot to improve physically, tactically and in their mental condition too," he said.

“We know that our challenge is to change this mentality and be stronger. This was the challenge from the beginning of the season.

“When we conceded the goals against Newcastle we tried to fix things in an individual way. We need to improve like a team.

“This is a period in which we need to be strong and calm, follow our way and work hard because we are sure that this dynamic will change.”