Mauricio Pochettino says the decision to dispatch Harry Kane from the bench while Tottenham were cruising 6-0 at Tranmere was down to ‘respect’ for the Rovers fans.
Kane replaced hat-trick hero Fernando Llorente with 15 minutes remaining at Prenton Park, by which time Spurs already had the game wrapped up.
The England star netted seven minutes later to cap a 7-0 win Pochettino seemed puzzled by those questioning the move to use Kane in such circumstances.
“It’s important for him to score and have 20 minutes playing football,” the Spurs boss said. “I think it was important for him and for the team an important victory and to get to the next stage of the FA Cup.
“It was an important fixture for the club. To be in four competitions is an important thing.”
Pushed on whether the move to bring on Kane showed ruthlessness, Pochettino added: “It was respect.
“Respect the people, respect the opponent. They’re not going to have many chances to see Harry Kane play here in a competition like the FA Cup.
“I think it was a great atmosphere. For different reasons I decided to make a change and put Kane on the pitch but one of them is that.
“It’s important to show respect to the people here so they could see Harry Kane, who is an icon in English football. It is difficult in that division to see it. It was important to see him in action.”