Tottenham striker Harry Kane says his side have to improve on “everything” after they were humiliated in the Europa Conference League.
Spurs were beaten 2-1 by NS Mura, the 341st ranked side in Europe, on a humbling night where new boss Antonio Conte made his thoughts about the state of the squad clear.
Not only have Spurs – Champions League finalists in 2019 – had the embarrassment of having to compete in the third-tier competition, even winning their last group game against Rennes in a fortnight might not be enough for them to qualify for the knockout stages.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 26, 2021
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Kane knows there is a lot of hard work ahead for Spurs to get competing at the level they were a few seasons ago.
Asked what they have to improve on, the England captain replied: “Everything. We are working hard and training hard, the manager has only had a few weeks, every day we are learning new things it is about getting that spirit and togetherness.
“We are working hard every day, we got a good win at the weekend (against Leeds), it is a shame we couldn’t back that up, but we still have another game in the group to go. We will give it our all in the last group game.”
Tottenham were already trailing to Tomi Horvat’s shock opener when Ryan Sessegnon was sent off.
Kane equalised for the 10 men with 18 minutes remaining and pushed on for a winner, but Amadej Marosa scored with the last kick of the game to inflict the defeat on Spurs.
“It was unacceptable really,” Kane added. “We didn’t start well, went behind and then have gone down to 10 men and made it difficult for ourselves.
“In the second half we showed some fight and spirit and got ourselves back into the game and if anyone looked like scoring it was going to be us.
“But an immature mistake at the end to concede a goal when we had all the play. It is unacceptable. A tough match for us, we just have to learn from it.
The boss' assessment of a disappointing night in Slovenia. pic.twitter.com/V2SZi07P7D
Advertisement— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 25, 2021
“This one hurts, but we have to dust ourselves down and get ready for that one.
“Anger, disappointment. As it should be, we were favourites to win this game, but we knew we had to get it right.
“We knew they were a good side, we knew we had to be on it in all aspects and mentality was definitely the main one. We made some immature mistakes and got punished for them and that’s what happens in Europe.
“All we can say is sorry to the travelling fans, sorry to the fans back home, but we just have to keep working hard and turn things around.”
It was a particularly disappointing night for Sessegnon, who lasted just 32 minutes before seeing red for two yellow cards.
The pre-match narrative had been about how this was a chance for the England Under-21 international to state his case and kick-start his Spurs career.
Kane has backed the wing-back to come good.
“He’s young and has not had too many European games,” Kane added. “The refs are different, the atmosphere is different.
“He is devastated, but he is a young kid and will learn from it for sure.
“It is about getting around each other and helping each other. He has been working very hard, he’ll bounce back and will be available for us, and I am sure the next time he gets on the pitch he will do everything to help us.”
