Tottenham face Liverpool on Saturday live on Sky Sports Premier League
Thursday 13 September 2018 18:03, UK
Mauricio Pochettino has rejected suggestions Harry Kane is fatigued, insisting it is only a matter of time before Tottenham striker is back to his goal-scoring best.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was among the people who questioned why Kane was in the squad for England's 1-0 win over Switzerland on Tuesday after a busy summer at the World Cup.
Neville believes the England captain need a "mental break", while Jamie Carragher thought he looked "sluggish" in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Spain.
But Spurs boss Pochettino does not share that view, and is confident Kane - who has scored two goals in six games for club and country this season - will soon put to rest any fears he is suffering from burnout.
Pochettino told Sky Sports News: "I think he is fit. I do not read and do not listen to what is going on around. The most important [thing] is that we trust.
"For me, there is no doubt that he is one of the best strikers in the world. When a striker does not fill the net and does not score goals, always you need to find some reason why but I think he is fit.
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"It is only time before he starts to score goals.
"For us Harry Kane is so important. I have no doubt that he is one of the best players in England and in Europe."
Tottenham host Liverpool at Wembley in the Premier League on Saturday, live on Sky Sports from 11.30am.
Pochettino says he will have no hesitation in picking Kane to start, insisting the Spurs coaching staff are the people best placed to make a determination on his physical and mental wellbeing.
"Under our assessment he is ready to play," Pochettino said. "We know Harry Kane well and have worked with him the last more than four years - and we know this is not a situation that worries us.
"I think it is a situation that is under control I think but we respect all opinion and maybe some opinions are different to us.
"We are the coaching staff at Tottenham and we try to take the best decision for the player."
