Tottenham’s Harry Kane focused on Southampton clash not Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal records

Harry Kane believes it would be “silly” to target a new all-time Premier League goalscoring record so early in his career.

The Tottenham striker equalled Alan Shearer’s Premier League mark of 36 goals in a calendar year, set in 1995, with another hat-trick in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Burnley.

Kane’s fifth hat-trick of the year lifted him to 93 Premier League goals in total, but he has some way to go to match Shearer’s all-time best of 260.

“Of course you dream about it, but I’d be silly to look that far ahead I think,” Kane said. “I’ve still got a long way to go. A lot can happen in football.

“Hopefully I can stay fit, stay sharp and we’ll see what happens. Maybe if I get to 200 and I’ve still got a few more years left then I’ll start thinking about it.

“But for now I’m concentrating on each game. I’ve had a great 2017 and hopefully, for me, it’s an improved 2018 and I get even better.”

The England striker will bid to break Shearer’s calendar-year mark in Tottenham’s lunchtime clash with Southampton on Boxing Day, live on Sky Sports Premier League HD, but insisted the team comes before any personal landmarks.

“Of course, always,” he said. “I’ve always said that and that will always be the case.

“I’m the striker, so a lot of the time I get the praise and get spoken about, but it’s so important that the team does well. “But now, obviously equal, yeah I’m full of confidence going into Tuesday. But most importantly for me it’s the wins that matter and Southampton’s going to be another tough game.”

Kane defended team-mate Dele Alli, who quickly adopted the role of pantomime villain on Saturday, when Tottenham halted a five-game winless run on the road in the top flight.

Alli was under the spotlight following his reckless tackle on Kevin De Bruyne in the recent defeat at Manchester City and, in only the fourth minute at Turf Moor, he was booked after lunging in on Charlie Taylor.

He further incensed the home fans, who felt he dived when challenged by Kevin Long in the area to earn Spurs an early penalty, duly dispatched by Kane, and was roundly booed thereafter.

“He’s a great person and he’s a great player,” Kane said. “He’s got that aggressive side to him and that’s what makes him who he is.

“I don’t think he stepped over the mark at all (at Turf Moor). I thought the penalty was definitely a penalty.

“People are going to talk and in football there’s always someone criticising you, so it’s about how you cope with that and I think he’s doing well.

“It makes him play better. You’ve seen him, he was fantastic. Maybe he fed off the crowd. He was the pantomime villain out there.”

(c) Sky News 2017: Tottenham’s Harry Kane focused on Southampton clash not Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal records