Harry Kane has warned his fellow England players that the strong sense of togetherness and commitment built under Gareth Southgate could be lost quickly if they do not commit to the national team in the future.
The England captain is back in the side for the final Nations League game under interim manager Lee Carsley against Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday, having questioned the commitment of team-mates who withdrew from the November squad. Kane said he was surprised by some of the reaction to his remarks before the win over Greece in Athens on Thursday but doubled down on his demand that England had to be a priority.
Asked whether that culture built under Southgate was fragile, Kane agreed that was the case. He said: “I think so – it takes a long time to build, and maybe not so long to lose if you’re not careful. But I think we’re well aware of that, the experienced players. Lee’s done a great job. I’m sure Thomas [Tuchel] will come in with his own ideas about how he wants to build his culture.”
Kane has not spoken to the incoming England manager whom he played under last season at Bayern Munich but said that the pair had swapped messages and would meet after Tuchel’s official start date on January 1. Should England beat Ireland they will win their Nations League group and be promoted back to the competition’s top tier. That would avoid the need for a play-off to determine their level in March.
“That [team spirit] will just naturally build,” Kane said. “It isn’t just these camps. I think from now until the World Cup, step by step you build that culture. I think it’s down to me and some of the older ones, like Walks [Kyle Walker] and Picks [Jordan Pickford] who’ve been here for a while, to start showing that to some of the younger players coming through.
“It takes a long time to build that, we’ve done a really good job building that. It’s something that you don’t want to lose as you start to get more younger players into the team. It isn’t just these camps. As we go along now, and when Thomas starts [with his first games] in March that will just naturally progress. We build that until the following summer, because it comes round so quick. Before we know it, this time next year we will be talking about a World Cup in eight months. It’s important that foundation is laid as early as possible.”
