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Tottenham Hotspur head coach Nuno Espirito Santo said there are “so many problems that we have to solve” after a difficult start to the season but denied Harry Kane continues to be affected by his failed move to Manchester City.
Spurs have suffered consecutive 3-0 Premier League defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea with Kane a peripheral figure in both matches.
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Nuno has also had to contend with a variety of issues including a lengthy injury list and three players — Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Davinson Sanchez — breaking club rules to represent their countries during the recent international break.
In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s defeat to Chelsea, Nuno said there were a variety of “problems” to contend with and when speaking on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Spurs’ Carabao Cup third round trip to his former club Wolves, the 47-year-old was asked to elaborate.
“‘Problems’ that are public,” he began. “‘Problems’ is the situation that the momentum that we are,” he said. “‘Problems’ is what we suffer during the international break.
“‘Problems’ is the absence of players. ‘Problems’ is that we have to improve the level of performance. ‘Problems’ is we concede goals from set-pieces, that we played so good in the first half and then we are not able to sustain. So many problems that we have to solve.”
Kane is yet to score a Premier League goal this season. It is the first time since 2015 he has failed to find the net in his first four appearances and comes after a summer in which he attempted to push through a move to City only for Spurs to rebuff any interest.
Pushed on whether Kane’s disappointment over remaining at the club was a factor in his on-field struggles, Nuno added: “That’s the past, that’s the past. Nothing that we can say or do now or in the future can change the past.
“So what we have to do with the past is put it behind our heads and focus on the present.”