09 April 2023 , 21:30
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Harry Kane shrugged off his “broken eyelash” to lionise Antonio Conte as “a great man” who would have approved of Tottenham spoiling for a fight.
The England captain was mocked by Everton manager Sean Dyche for his theatrical fall when Toffees midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure was sent off for pushing Kane in the face last week.
But after his 25th bullseye of the season pulled off a highwayman's heist at luckless Brighton's expense, Spurs' record goalscorer insisted: “I'm good – I haven't heard anyone say it wasn't a red card.”
And speaking for the first time about head coach Conte's departure last month, following the Italian's meltdown at his players' innate softness, Kane said: “I wish Antonio all the best. I had a great relationship with him and for one reason or another it didn’t quite work.
Kane scored Tottenham's winner against Brighton (Getty Images)“I am not going to get into what he said (after the 3-3-draw at Southampton) - it was an emotional moment after a game we should have won. He is a great man and his emotions come out sometimes. That’s who he is and he owns that.
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“We talk amongst ourselves to keep fighting and keep improving, and we know we need to do better in those moments when we are leading, like at Southampton and at Everton. All we can do is keep trying to fight.
“But I think Antonio would have enjoyed that win and the way we fought for it. Those points always feel a little bit better when you grind them out.
" Brighton are a really good team and they play some good football. We had to show some grit and defending, and at this stage of the season it is just about fighting.
“We have Cristian (Stellini) and Ryan (Mason) in charge now, and we have to help them as much as possible. We need the more experienced played to push the whole team if we want to finish in that top four.”
Kane was a late arrival at the touchline bust-up in which 20 backroom staff from both clubs squared up on the touchline – although nobody snapped an eyelash in the chaos.
Both bosses were sent off in the second half (CameraSport via Getty Images)He said: “I didn’t see what happened - I just saw the commotion and red cards, but both teams are fighting for important points.
“Those are the games you really want to win. You want to come through when it is tight, when it is nitty and gritty. They always feel a bit better when you get the three points.
“We are playing for the top four and that is really important to us, we want to be playing Champions League football again and we have eight games, eight finals to try and make that happen.”