'It's been hard for Mourinho' - Kane believes manager has now 'put his stamp' on Spurs

Tottenham striker Harry Kane says it was hard for Jose Mourinho to make an impression on the side during the early months of his tenure, but their recent form is a sign that his methods are starting to bear fruit.

Mourinho begin his tenure with three successive victories in November to lift the mood around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following the dismissal of Mauricio Pochettino.

But the north London side struggled for consistency as the winter progressed and were six games without a win before coronavirus shutdown, a run that saw them crash out of both the Champions League and FA Cup to end any hopes of lifting silverware this campaign.

Injuries had also begun to take their toll, with the likes of Kane and Son Heung-Min expected to miss the remainder of the campaign. However, the shutdown allowed the duo time return to fitness and bolster the Spurs line-up upon their return to action last month.

The result is a run of just one defeat in eight matches since the restart, with three successive victories lifting the the club up to sixth and right in contention for a European place.

It suggests Mourinho’s message is finally starting to get across to his side after that indifferent start, a sentiment echoed by Spurs captain Kane.

He told Sky Sports: "It was hard for him [Jose Mourinho] to come in and put his stamp on things but we have been able to do that in the last three wins.”

Tottenham’s latest victory was an impressive 3-0 win against Champions League-chasing Leicester on Sunday, with Kane scoring twice to take his tally for the season to 23 in all competitions this season.

It was also his 15th and 16th career goals just 14 appearances against the Foxes, more than he’s scored against any opponent in his career.

"It's must one of those teams I seem to score a few against,” added the England captain. “We caught them on the break today and once we got ahead we just steadied the ship. The clean sheet was great.”

On his second goal, which was a fine curling effort from the left of the penalty area, Kane said: "The ball got away from me to begin with so I looked to try and cut in and get the shot away. Sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn't. Luckily today it did.”