Harry Kane is eager to impress England interim manager Gareth Southgate and lead the line against Scotland in Friday’s World Cup qualifier.
The Tottenham striker missed Southgate’s first two games with an ankle injury but is back in the squad to face their local rivals and is hoping to make an impression on the 46-year-old, who has two games left to run in his temporary stint in charge.
“Whenever a new manager comes in you want to be there and try to impress him,” Kane told a press conference.
“I worked with the gaffer with the U-21s so we know each other quite well. It’s great to be back and be working with him again. I want to impress him, I want to try and get in the team and fight for a place in this team. All I can do is try and do that in training.
“To be back for Spurs and back involved with England is special meeting up. I missed the last trip which was hard to take but the ankle feels good now and I feel fit and it’s great to be back involved.
“We all know how big the game is on Friday. We’re looking forward to it very much. It’s going to be an amazing atmosphere and a great competition on the pitch.
“He (Southgate) showed us a montage of all the previous games and it’s great to look back and see all of that and feel the importance of the game, how important it is as players and staff and fans.
“We know what it means so we’re all looking forward to it.”
Timely derby
There are few rivalries in British football bigger than the north London derby and Kane returned from seven weeks out to score from the penalty spot as Tottenham drew 1-1 with sporting foes Arsenal at the weekend.
The 23-year-old is delighted to be back in action for club and country and believes the injury lay-off may even produce positive results in the long run.
“I’d been training leading up to the game against Arsenal and it was in the back of my mind that I wanted to be fit enough to be called up,” he said.
“I knew I had to be fit for that game if that was an option. It’s great to be able to play in that and then to get the call-up as well made it even better.
“It was a good game to come back in, one I look forward to every year. It wasn’t a bad result away from home and it was great to get back on the scoresheet.
“No-one wants to be injured, but when you do have setbacks like that, you have to look at the positives and that’s what I’ve done. It’s a chance to recover other muscles in the body that’s been going non-stop for quite a few years now.
“I kept myself fit, did a lot of gym work. I feel fit and sharp and I’m sure it’ll put me in good stead for the rest of the season.”
Kane missed England’s main training session yesterday, but insisted there was nothing to be concerned about.
“It was just a second day recovery programme exercise,” he added.
“Stretching and recovery from the game on Sunday.”