Harry Kane has said there are “no excuses” for Tottenham in their pursuit of a Champions League place after moving into their new stadium.
Kane said the 62,000-seat arena immediately felt like home during Wednesday’s win against Crystal Palace and that the target was to pick up where they left off at White Hart Lane by extending an unbeaten run there that ran through their final season.
Tottenham are third in the Premier League, one point ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea three clear of Manchester United, and Kane described the team as confident of finishing in the top four.
“We feel like we have done well this season obviously with everything that has been going on,” the striker said. “There are no excuses now. We are here, we are home, and if we play like that we will be all right.”
Four of Spurs’ remaining six league games are at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – against Huddersfield, Brighton, West Ham and Everton. “Being on the pitch just felt like home,” Kane said. “In the final year at the old White Hart Lane we finished unbeaten and I hope this will be the same.”
A swift test will come on Tuesday when Manchester City visit for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. “City is going to be something special as well,” Kane said. “We have got to try to use the occasion and the atmosphere to our advantage but it will be difficult.”
The win against Palace, on what Kane described as “a great night for the club”, followed a sequence of four defeats and a draw from five league matches. “It has been a tough few weeks for us and we are in a battle for the top four,” Kane said. “Obviously with United losing [at Wolves on Tuesday], it was up to us to gain a few points on them. I thought we were excellent.”
