Kane staying upbeat despite disappointing start

Cape Town - Harry Kane admits Tottenham Hotspur have made a "disappointing start" to their campaign but was quick to point out there is still a long way to go.

Kane made a point of saying before the season began that Spurs needed to start strongly and stay consistent if they are to have any chance of staying with Manchester City and Liverpool, but just three games in they are already off the pace.

Things started positively with three points against Aston Villa and a draw at City the week after, but Newcastle threw a spoke in the wheel as they left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a 1-0 win on Sunday.

Those are the games you cannot afford to lose to have any chance of winning the title. Both Liverpool and City were relentless last season and look like being so again in this campaign, in what could be another two-horse race for the title.

Tottenham are already five points behind leaders Liverpool and three behind Manchester City and Kane accepts it is going to take something special for Spurs to challenge for the title in this campaign, although he is not giving up.

"It is still going to take a lot of hard work," he said. "As you're seeing from Manchester City and Liverpool there is no letting up from them.

"I said before the start of the season that if we could put a run together, get that momentum, maybe winning for two to three months on the spin without dropping any points, then that's what it's going to take.

"I knew we had to keep up with them, make sure we win, especially at home. It is disappointing that we haven't done that in only our second home game.

"But there is still a long way to go, there are a lot of big games ahead of us. It just means we are going to have to pick up points in the big games, the tough games and try to improve on what we did against Newcastle.

"It's a disappointing start but there is a long way to go."

Spurs need to bounce back quickly, and one of the big games that Kane is talking about comes this Sunday when they take on arch-rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

A win and they will feel they are back on track, but another defeat and they will be even further off the pace.