Tottenham star Kane acknowledges sub-par start

Harry Kane knows he could have done better during Tottenham's poor start to the season but said his performance in the 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion marked an upturn in form.

The England striker's first-half penalty at the Amex Stadium on Saturday was followed up by Erik Lamela's second-half strike as Mauricio Pochettino's men brought a run of three defeats to an end on the south coast.

Kane has scored three goals in seven appearances in all competitions for Spurs this season, but critics have suggested he is suffering from fatigue in the aftermath of England's run to the World Cup semi-finals.

The 25-year-old said he welcomed the attention he attracts as one of the game's top marksmen and is striving to live up to the reputation he has established.

"I would 100 per cent rather have the focus [on me] than not have it," Kane said. "I've scored three goals this season, which is not terrible.

"When you set standards in other seasons and other games, people will talk if you don't reach them, and I'm the first to analyse my game and see what I could do better.

"Of course I feel I could have done better in most games this season. This was probably the first game where I was truly happy with my all-round performance.

"It's the life of the striker. You'll get chances, miss chances, feel you can hold it up better. All you can do is look forward and try to improve."

Kane denied the claim that successive defeats against Watford, Liverpool and Inter had led to a team meeting to discuss Tottenham's problems.

"We all talk around the training ground but there wasn't an official meeting," he said.

"We're in a tough spell but that's football.

"The only way to get through that is to work harder, whether that's on the training pitch or during games."