Harry Kane has warned that the England team’s culture “takes a long time to build and maybe not so long to lose” and called on the senior players to help maintain a positive feel around the camp.
England will secure promotion back to UEFA Nations League A on Sunday if they beat Republic of Ireland at Wembley having taken control of their destiny with an impressive 3-0 win over Greece earlier this week.
Kane generated headlines after appearing to question the commitment of some teammates after nine players withdrew from interim boss Lee Carsley’s latest squad, suggesting that the hectic nature of club football had “been taken advantage of.”
The England captain — who will start Sunday’s game after being a second-half substitute in Athens — played down those comments at a Saturday news conference but underlined the fragile nature of the environment around the team, which former boss Gareth Southgate did so much to improve.
Interim boss Lee Carsley has introduced several young players into the squad ahead of Thomas Tuchel’s arrival as Southgate’s permanent successor on Jan. 1. When asked whether there was always a danger the positive culture could be lost, Kane said: “Yeah I think so. It takes a long time to build and maybe not so long to lose if you’re not careful. But I think we are well aware of that.
“Lee has done a great job and I’m sure Thomas will come in and have his own ideas and ways that he wants to build his culture.”
Asked about the ITV interview in which he expressed his disappointment at the withdrawals, Kane said: “I gave my opinion on the matter. I probably didn’t expect it to get as much coverage as it did but it was my opinion. The November camp has always been a difficult camp, even when you look at other years, there have been players who have pulled out. It is a tough stage of the season.
“You are carrying injuries, you are in the heart of a lot of games. It is just my opinion that England is really important. After a major championship like the summer, sometimes these September, October, November camps get forgotten about a little bit, just in terms of how important they are because if we win tomorrow now, it sets us up really well for the year ahead to the World Cup.
“These are the camps as well where you deal with that culture and togetherness that leads you into a World Cup.”
Pushed on how the delay in Tuchel starting work — he signed his contract on Oct. 8 — affects that culture, Kane replied: “Lee has come in and done a fantastic job with firstly the way we wanted to play and having more control of games.
“Also, some of the younger players who have come in and experienced playing for England in the first team and have done really well as well. That will just naturally build.
“It isn’t just these camps. From now until the World Cup, step by step you build that culture and I think it is down to me and some of the older ones like Walks [Kyle Walker] and Picks [Jordan Pickford] who have been here for a while to start showing that to some of the younger players coming through because I think takes a long time to build that.
“We did a really good job of building that. It is something you don’t want to lose as you start to get more younger players into the team.”
Kane also suggested the Premier League should reintroduce a winter break to aid player welfare. The 31-year-old left Tottenham for Bayern Munich in August 2023 and experienced an extended mid-season holiday for the first time in his career.
The Premier League dispensed with a staggered, shorter winter break this season in an effort to give players a longer period off in the summer.
“It would be great for them to have the winter break [in England],” he said. “We had it for about two years in the Prem and I think it went down really well with the players.
“There has been a lot of talk about the schedules and it was my first experience of a longer winter break last year and I felt it really helped me just recover in a really tough period.
“That is probably a wider conversation about the schedule and how that can be helped. It is a shame they’ve taken that back again and they don’t get that break.”
Carsley confirmed in the news conference that Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa has returned to his club after struggling with a hip injury.
