HARRY KANE has admitted that he did not expect to get on against Europa Conference League minnows NS Mura last night.
But the Tottenham striker was delighted to be able to bag a hat-trick during his half-hour cameo.
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Kane might have been expecting to keep his feet up, when goals from Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso put Spurs 2-0 up after just eight minutes.
But the Lilywhites’ performance grew sluggish, with Ziga Kous giving them a scare by reducing the deficit seven minutes into the second-half.
Under-fire manager Nuno Espirito Santo called on Kane as well as Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura on the hour mark.
And it was the former that did the business for him as Spurs ran out 5-1 winners on a low-key night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
After his hat-trick, the first in the brief history of the Europa Conference League, Kane told BT Sport: “Every striker wants to score goals.
“I probably wasn’t expecting to come on today but it’s nice to get the minutes.
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“Whenever you see the ball hit the back of the net it’s a good feeling. Hopefully we can take it into the weekend.
“It was nice to come off the bench and score a few goals.”
Nuno received heavy criticism following Spurs’ dreadful 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, their third consecutive Premier League loss.
But the stoic Portuguese was delighted to get back to winning ways last night, albeit against limited opposition.
On his triple substitution, he said: “I think the game needed. In the best way, the best way was to have the players on the pitch and they brought the energy the team needed definitely in that moment.
“The team needed the energy and it was good. It was good for the team and good for everybody.
“Today was important to perform the way we did. A good result and this way we recover better and prepare for the next one better. A lot of positives.”
And on Kane scoring, he added: “It is important for everybody, I always insist.
“The more important thing is that we have all the players in the best they can be.”
Spurs host Aston Villa on Sunday, looking to gain their first Premier League points since August.
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