Kane an Inspiration for Spurs’ Squad, Says Mason

Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane reacts at the end of the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on May 6, 2023. (AFP)
Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane reacts at the end of the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on May 6, 2023. (AFP)
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Kane an Inspiration for Spurs’ Squad, Says Mason

Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane reacts at the end of the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on May 6, 2023. (AFP)
Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane reacts at the end of the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on May 6, 2023. (AFP)

Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane is setting an example for others at the club to follow with his "elite mindset", interim manager Ryan Mason said after the striker scored the winner in a 1-0 Premier League victory over Crystal Palace.

Kane headed home in first-half injury time to score his 209th Premier League goal, one more than Wayne Rooney but still some way behind record-holder Alan Shearer's tally of 260.

"Naturally we'll all talk about Harry's goals and Harry when he plays games of football he will continue to score goals. We know that," Mason told reporters after Spurs' victory snapped a four-game winless run on Saturday.

"But also that elite mindset, that example that he sets every day in and around the place, it's great to be around. Because when you have people like that they inspire you to be better and we appreciate Harry, we value him so much at this football club.

"... you have to have 11 players that are fighting for each other and working hard as a collective to get results. When you've got your captain, your leader, your goalscorer, probably one of our best players setting that example, that's what I want."

Tottenham's victory lifted them to sixth in the table with 57 points from 35 games. They next travel to Aston Villa on Saturday.



PSG Coach Faces Crucial Month in Fight for Champions League Survival

Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
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PSG Coach Faces Crucial Month in Fight for Champions League Survival

Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

January could be a crucial month in determining Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique's future at the club.
While runaway league leader PSG is unbeaten in domestic competition heading into Sunday's Trophée des Champions (the French super cup) against Monaco, it is a far different story in the Champions League.
Three defeats in the new-look group format have left PSG in a perilous position, and the ambitious Qatari-backed club faces the threat of elimination.
With only two games remaining PSG is in a dismal 25th place out of 36 teams, with the bottom 12 all going out.
PSG next faces 2023 champion Manchester City at home on Jan. 22 before traveling to play German club Stuttgart the following week.
Those would already be tough games, but they are made even more difficult given the fact that City and Stuttgart are similarly in danger and need victories. City is one point ahead of PSG with eight points and Stuttgart is level on seven.
Stuttgart's penultimate game is against Slovan Bratislava — which has lost all six matches so far and conceded 21 goals — and so victory there would put it ahead of PSG going into the final round, if Enrique's side fails to beat City.
City is struggling to defend its Premier League title and European success could prove coach Pep Guardiola's salvation, so the PSG game is massive for the club.
Defeat may prove costly for Enrique, who is PSG's eighth manager since Qatari investors QSI bought the club in 2011. In that time, Carlo Ancelotti is the only coach not to be sacked, leaving for Real Madrid in 2013.
The hire-and-fire approach is unlikely to spare Enrique if he suffers the crushing humiliation of being knocked out of the new giant group-stage format of the Champions League — where eight sides qualify directly and 16 reach the knockout phase playoffs.
Modest Lille and tournament newcomers Brest are both in the top eight while 2004 runner-up Monaco is 16th, leaving PSG last among the French clubs.
Whatever PSG achieves in France — with the Ligue 1 and French Cup double a possibility — Enrique will be judged on what happens in Europe's elite competition.