Mauricio Pochettino was asked why he brought Harry Kane off the bench with a 6-0 lead and 15 minutes remaining in their FA Cup third round matchup against fourth-tier Tranmere Rovers.
“It was respect,” Pochettino said in his post-match press conference. “Respect the people, respect the opponent.”
Some might call it class, while others might consider a move like that pouring it on. Nonetheless, Pochettino was thinking about the fans, and even the opposing players. He felt it was necessary to allow them to enjoy seeing Kane play.
“They’re not going to have many chances to see Harry Kane play here in a competition like the FA Cup,” Pochettino said. “For different reasons I decided to make a change and put Kane on the pitch but one of them is that it’s important to show respect to the people here so they could see Harry Kane, who is an icon in English football. It is difficult in that division to see it. It was important to see him in action.”
It’s likely that Pochettino’s “different reasons” include getting Kane some game time, and working on different tactics with such a healthy lead. He ended up scoring Tottenham’s 7th and final goal of the match in the 82nd minute.
Pochettino has not been shy about Kane’s minutes this season, as the England international has appeared in every Premier League game so far, accumulating nearly 1,800 minutes. Across all competitions, Kane has nearly 2,400 minutes in 28 total appearances.
