Harry Kane can still remember the first time. ‘Shamrock away,’ he nodded as he rewound from number 267, the Tottenham record breaker against Manchester City, to a December night in Dublin and a knock down from Andros Townsend.
‘It was a Danny Rose cross, Andros headed it back and I kind of swivelled and hit it through the legs. It was a special feeling just to be playing for Tottenham at that age and to score.
‘I can remember it like it was yesterday and that was 11 years ago. Time goes quick, there’s been a lot of ups and downs along the way but I’m just extremely grateful to a lot of people to still be here, performing and scoring goals.
‘Scoring a goal never gets old. It’s one of the greatest feelings I can ever feel.’
From Shamrock Rovers in 2011 to Sunday’s winner against City, the goals are all filed away and he’s certain he can bring them to mind on request.
Harry Kane (pictured) celebrates his first Spurs goal during the UEFA Europa League match against Shamrock Rovers FC in Dublin in 2011
Kane became the leading scorer for a single Premier League club in Saturday’s 1-0 win
‘Don’t put me on the spot but if you told me the game, I could probably tell you the type of goal,’ said Kane. ‘Every goal was special in its own way.
‘It’s been an amazing journey. I’ve been here since I was 11 years old. Eighteen years of my life, a lot of hard work and dedication. I’m extremely proud to represent this club, to score 267 goals for them and 200 Premier League goals.
‘It’s something I’ll never take for granted. I’ve just got to keep it going, try and score as many as I can and see what happens.’
Pressed for some of his favourites, Kane pulled out two scored against Arsenal to clinch a thrilling 2-1 comeback win, at the old White Hart Lane, eight years ago.
‘My first North London derby, the header and the one I bent in from the left, post and in,’ he said. ‘Those two stick in my memory for sure.
‘There’s been some good ones over the years but that one against City was right up there, just the atmosphere and the occasion. It was a special goal and a special night and to get the three points.’
Little more than a month before his double against Arsenal, on New Year’s Day 2015, there were two more to cherish in a 5-3 victory against Chelsea.
Tottenham paid tribute to the striker with messages emblazoned across their big screens following the strike
The strike moved him ahead of Jimmy Greaves – who had held the record since he departed in 1970
‘That was an important game,’ he said. ‘Chelsea at the time were one of the best teams in Europe, and top of the league. I’d done well before then and scored goals against other teams, but hadn’t done it against a big team yet.
‘Not just those goals but the whole performance was one of my best performances in a Spurs shirt and that just gave me the confidence I needed to know I could do it against any team on any stage.
‘I feel like that was the moment when I thought, ‘OK, I’m here to stay’. I just had to make sure I kept working hard. That’s what I’ve tried to do. Trying to be consistent, perform every year, and improve every year.
‘I’m only 29 and I feel like there’s still room for more improvement and trying to get better and that’s what I’ll keep trying to do for the rest of my career.
‘I feel like my brain is probably my strongest asset as a player and the more games I play the more experience I get and that only gets stronger so I’m in a good place. It’s really pleasing for me and for the team as well.’
Kane is the first to the milestone of 200 Premier League goals with one club and inching ever closer to Alan Shearer’s record of 260 in the competition.
Kane is inching ever closer to Alan Shearer’s record of 260 in the competition
A silhouette of Kane was shown alongside the words ‘Congratulations Harry’ after the goal
‘Of course it’s there in the back of my mind,’ he said. ‘It’s definitely there to be broken. I’m feeling good and feeling fit so we’ll see what happens. I’ll enjoy this one and then focus on Saturday against Leicester.’
Spurs boss Antonio Conte watched the 1-0 win against Manchester City game from Italy where he was recovering from surgery to remove his gallbladder, and was on the phone straight after the final whistle.
‘He was congratulating me for the achievement and said he was proud of all the boys,’ said Kane. ‘It’s not easy when you don’t have your coach there. We’re all happy the surgery went well and he’s recovering well but whenever you don’t have your coach there it’s never easy.
‘We showed we’re a unit, a team and I’m sure he would have been proud. We knew we’d have to dig deep at times and really suffer and be together. Throughout the team, we showed 110 per cent commitment. I’m sure the gaffer’s proud and we can be proud as well.’
Tottenham recorded their third clean sheet in a row since last month’s 4-2 defeat at Manchester City and moved to within a point of Newcastle in fourth.
‘From City away when we conceded four in the second half, we had a chat amongst ourselves and spoke about getting back to what we’re good at,’ said Kane. ‘We did that against Fulham away, and again on Sunday against one of the best teams in the league.
‘If we can do it against one of the best teams in the league we can do it against anyone. That’s the standard and we mustn’t fall below that in any game. Clean sheets are really important. Clean sheets win games. We feel like we’ve got enough firepower to score goals but we’ve got to make sure we keep the ball out of the net.’