Pochettino finally shares what Kane said to Spurs’s players at half-time in CL semi v Ajax

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Tottenham Hotspur ran out 3-2 winners in the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final against Ajax last term.

Mauricio Pochettino has told BT Sport that Harry Kane did indeed speak to Tottenham Hotspur’s players at half-time to help inspire their famous comeback against Ajax in the Champions League semi-final last season.

In one of the most famous nights in Tottenham’s history, they went into the second-half in Holland needing to score three times to progress to the final.

Spurs’s task looked virtually impossible, but Kane, who was injured and unavailable, went into the dressing room at half-time to try and inspire his side.

The striker’s words certainly worked, as a Lucas Moura hat-trick ended up sending Tottenham into the final in Madrid.

And Pochettino said: “I wasn’t in the changing room always when we finish half-time, as we allow them to calm down for five minutes, and there are five minutes when we are trying to analyse and discuss while watching some clips to improve the tactics.

“That is a moment for them [the players] to calm and to talk a little bit. I arrive between five and seven minutes, I need to talk.

“I said ‘please don’t give up, believe, because we are in the race’.

“Afterwards we gave a few minutes to finish and in this moment arrived Harry Kane. And we know very well he is a great leader with great character like Lloris and, of course, they told the boys ‘we need to believe and never give up, and fight to the end, because we have a big opportunity to be in the final’.”

Tottenham’s come-back on that occasion in Amsterdam will live long in the memory, even if the final didn’t go according to plan.

All hope appeared lost for Spurs, but with almost the last kick of the game, Moura swung a left-boot at the ball and drove it home to cue wild celebrations.

Tottenham’s Champions League campaign this season has not been anywhere near as memorable, as Jose Mourinho’s side went out to RB Leipzig at the first knockout stage.