Kane admits: I've hummed 'he's one of our own'
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane says Spurs fans’ tribute chant gives him goosebumps.
The former Arsenal trainee joined the club aged 11 and has enjoyed a brilliant campaign for his boyhood club, scooping the PFA Young Player of the Year award after netting 20 Premier League goals, plus another 17 in cup competitions.
Understandably those feats have adorned him to Spurs fans, who regularly serenade their 21-year-old striker with chants of "he's one of our own".
"The first time I heard it was after I let in the goal [against Asteras Tripoli]," said Kane, speaking in the June 2015 issue of FourFourTwo. "I could hear it from the bench before I came on [at Villa Park] and it sent a shiver down my spine. I’ve never sung it myself, but I’ve hummed it walking out of the stadium to my car."
Kane forced his way into the first team after netting a last-minute free-kick winner at Aston Villa in November and hasn't looked back, becoming the first Tottenham player since Gary Lineker to score 30 goals in one season.
It's a feat which contributed to his first England caps in March and, true to form, Kane netted on his debut against Lithuania within 80 seconds of coming off the substitutes' bench.
"I wouldn’t say I expect to score every time I walk on the pitch, but if I don’t then I’m disappointed," he says.
"There’ll always be games where you don’t score, and the key is how you respond to that the following week. That’s been something I’ve done well this season; if I’ve gone two or three games without scoring, I’ve been able to eventually get a goal and then get another little run going."
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At 21, Kane also knows there is still plenty of room for improvement.
"I stay behind after training to work on my finishing and practice for certain match situations," said the youngster. "I think that's why you've seen me score every different type of goal this season – inside the box, outside the box, headers, left foot, right foot – I've worked hard to make that happen.
"I still don't think of myself as a top player. There's still room for me to improve and my mindset is to keep trying to do that. There's always more goals you can score and more wins the team can get. The moment you think you've reached the top, somebody else will come along and overtake you.
"I always want to try to be better. The main thing I want to work on now is the physical element – I want to get as fit and as fast and powerful as I can.
"In pre-season, we worked a lot on my fitness, speed and strength – a lot of people have come up to me and said how different I look to last season!"
Interview: James Maw. Words: Abdullah Moallim.
Read the full interview with Harry Kane in the June 2015 issue of FourFourTwo, out now in shops and on iPad. We chart the incredible rise of Spurs' goal-getting PFA award winner, look at a divisive decade of the Glazers at Manchester United and revisit the Miracle of Istanbul as told by the fans 10 years on.
Joe was the Deputy Editor at FourFourTwo until 2022, having risen through the FFT academy and been on the brand since 2013 in various capacities.
By weekend and frustrating midweek night he is a Leicester City fan, and in 2020 co-wrote the autobiography of former Foxes winger Matt Piper – subsequently listed for both the Telegraph and William Hill Sports Book of the Year awards.