Antonio Conte insists he is ‘very pleased’ with Harry Kane’s output despite the forward’s lack of goals for Tottenham.
Kane won the Premier League’s Golden Boot last season but has scored just once in 12 league appearances for the north Londoners this time around, with the England captain again failing to find the net in the 2-0 midweek win over Brentford.
Despite the forward’s struggles, Spurs have risen to sixth in the Premier League after securing back-to-back wins and Conte insists that team results are more important than individual contributions for Kane.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with Norwich, the Italian said he is pleased with Kane’s performances despite his struggle for goals in recent weeks.
“I’m sure Harry is happy if we win and he doesn’t score,” Conte said at his pre-match press conference. “Tottenham is the first thought for us. As I said last night, Harry played a very good game. He was involved in the situation when we scored.
“He had a good chance to score but it’s important to have chances to score. We are improving a lot under this aspect and I’m sure Harry is going to score many goals.
“I’m sure he is going to have a good performance in the same way he had against Brentford, I’m very pleased with the way he is playing.
“I know the striker wants to score and we want to give him many chances to score and we are on the right path.”
Kane enjoyed a prolific international break with England last month, scoring seven goals across two fixtures with Albania and San Marino.
The 28-year-old became the first Three Lions player since 1957 to score successive hat-tricks, but has failed to replicate those performances since returning to club football.
Conte was asked for his thoughts on Kane’s contrasting goalscoring form for club and country and believes the standard of opposition in the Premier League can outweigh international minnows.
“I think the Premier League is a very, very tough league. Every game you go to play is not easy,” said Conte.
“Sometimes with the national team you can play against a team that’s not so strong and you have more opportunities to score. Not only for him but all the players.
“This league is very strong, this league is the most difficult in the world and for this reason it’s not simple to win games and get three points and to score goals.
“This is the great difference you can find between the situations.”
