No panic for Harry Kane as Tottenham star has time on his side with England

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Danny Murphy9 June 2017

Harry Kane has no need to panic. His record of five goals in his first 17 appearances for England is not spectacular - but both Alan Shearer and Michael Owen had exactly the same tally at that stage of their international careers.

Let’s be honest: Tottenham’s midfield is better than England’s. Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen, Tottenham’s most creative players, are better than most footballers available to England in their roles.

They are used to playing with Kane, too. They know the runs he makes, they know how he likes to receive the ball.

Similarly, Kane is used to being around them. You play three times per week with the same lads and if you have a bad game, you’re not too worried, because you know you can rectify it quickly.

In Pictures | Harry Kane's Premier League goals 2016/17

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If you play poorly for England in a qualifier in the autumn, you have to wait until the following spring to put it right.

Everything is familiar for Kane at Tottenham. He has 99 goals and complete belief in himself. It is not quite the same in an England shirt yet. He will be aware of the strikers who have gone before him, and the comparisons being made. He wants to emulate them.

Think about his opponents, too. You might think that scoring against Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta and - yes - Scotland should be no more difficult than outwitting Premier League defences. Yet teams can be far more defensive in the international game, especially away from home.

Even if they fall behind, the weakest teams opt for damage limitation and stick to their original plan. There are far fewer spaces and marking is often much tighter.

But time is on his side. Kane does not turn 24 until July 28 - and he hasn’t had it easy with England. When he played at Euro 2016, he had played the best part of two years without a break: he became a regular for Spurs in the autumn of 2014, played in the European Under-21 Championships the following summer, before a full season with Spurs in 2015-16.

England Football Boot Camp - In pictures

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He then went to Euro 2016, and we all know how that turned out. Against teams who sat deep, Kane struggled to make an impression and did not score in the tournament.

Yet everything about Kane’s career until now suggests he will deliver for England in time.

He has responded well to every challenge at club level. If he could score a couple of goals against Scotland at Hampden, it would get his England career off and running.

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