Mauricio Pochettino had some of his own in the away end at QPR. The Tottenham Hotspur manager’s sons, Sebastiano and Maurizio, together with his older brother, Javier, had eschewed the posh seats to live this Premier League match properly; rubbing shoulders with the die-hards and bellowing out the songs. There was one, in particular, that enjoyed repeated airings.
“Yes, they know the Harry Kane song,” Pochettino said with a smile. “They had the possibility to go to the directors’ box but they preferred to go with the supporters, to sing the songs.”
It was a special day for Pochettino, one that mixed his twin passions – family and football, up-tempo, winning football. At full-time, he walked over towards the visitors’ enclosure to get a snap for the family album. “I went over to take the picture because it was a fantastic moment for my sons and brother, and for me, too,” Pochettino said.
“My brother is over from Argentina for a couple of weeks. He was also at the Capital One Cup final. He works on the family farm in Murphy. He enjoys football but I don’t let him give me his opinions. He’s very honest with me, sometimes too much. He’s six years older than me.”
Tottenham have long enjoyed popularity in Argentina because of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa but Pochettino and the winger, Érik Lamela, have raised the club’s profile again. All of the team’s matches are televised live and Pochettino said everybody in his hometown of Murphy in the Santa Fe province [population: 3,600] had watched the Capital One Cup final on the Sunday before last, which Tottenham lost 2-0 to Chelsea.
Tottenham’s fans could enjoy more than Kane’s latest headline-grabbing performance on Saturday. Ryan Mason was outstanding in front of the watching England manager, Roy Hodgson and, if Kane is assured of his first senior call-up later this month against Lithuania and Italy, then his midfield team-mate is also in with a shout.
Hodgson has mentioned Mason in several recent interviews – the 23-year-old is in his thoughts – and he would have been impressed by his touch, passing and tenacity against Queens Park Rangers. Mason released Kane for the striker’s second goal, having clashed with Karl Henry moments earlier by the touchline and squared up to him. Pochettino stepped in from his technical area to drag Mason away. “Ryan has character, big character,” Pochettino said.
This was a triumph of Tottenham’s collective character. They had Hugo Lloris to thank for a smart stop from Charlie Austin on 20 minutes and the referee, Craig Pawson, for ignoring two strong penalty appeals from QPR. Lloris looked to have caught Mauricio Isla on 39 minutes; Nabil Bentaleb appeared to block Austin’s shot with his hands on 77 minutes.
But Tottenham were good in the second-half while they toughed it out in the closing stages, after Sandro’s well-executed finish had sparked a direct and physical assault from the home team.
“The connection between the team and the supporters is special,” Pochettino said. “The beginning [of the season] was different. Now, it is fantastic. We have a very good mentality. We’ve improved, not only tactically and physically but mentally. The most important thing I got from the team is that they believe in our way.”
Kane said: “We played well but we also dug in when we had to. It shows the character of the squad to beat Swansea last Wednesday and QPR after losing at Wembley to Chelsea and going out of the Europa League to Fiorentina.” He has 26 goals in all competitions this season and only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have scored more across Europe’s top divisions. It is remarkable to think Kane did not start a league game until 9 November. His burgeoning reputation appears to be preceding him. There were a few moments when QPR players stood off him or hesitated fractionally before looking to challenge.
Hodgson could also take heart from Austin’s performance. He rattled the crossbar in the 30th minute while he produced a stunning goalline clearance to deny Christian Eriksen on the hour. QPR’s survival hopes continue to rest heavily on him.
Chris Ramsey could lament the fine margins at work, particularly with regard to the penalty claims, but the Premier League has no time for hard luck stories and the QPR manager knows it.
The defending on both Kane’s goals was horribly loose.
Man of the match Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
