Mourinho hits back at Merson's criticism of playing style, Kane's record

Hotspur's manager Jose Mourinho defends striker Harry Kane against a pundit's suggestion he could struggle under the Portuguese manager's system.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: CONTAINS WHITE FLASHES SHOWS: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 22, 2020) (TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL) 1.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR MANAGER, JOSE MOURINHO, ON HARRY KANE, SAYING: "And in our case, Harry (Kane) hadn't played a game for six months.

The record of goals that Harry has with me is easy for you (to see).

You just have to go to your data and it's easy to see how many matches Harry played with me before his injury and how many goals he scored.

For you not to lose time, I can say that I've had a few strikers that have played for me and they are not bad." 2.

WHITE FLASH 3.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR MANAGER, JOSE MOURINHO, ON HARRY KANE, SAYING: "So dear Paul (Merson), I have lots of respect for you.

I think Harry Kane has no problems at all to score goals on my teams. Especially when he's fit, when he's fresh, when he has routines of playing.

So, that's my message to somebody who I have lots of respect for." 4.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR MANAGER, JOSE MOURINHO, ON PLAYERS COMING BACK FROM INJURY AND HAVING ALL SIX ATTACKERS AVAILABLE, SAYING: "Only good news.

We only have good news.

Lucas (Moura) is back from injury.

Dele Alli is back from punishment.

And no injuries coming off the game against (Manchester) United.

So, we haven't lost any players and we have two extra players that make our squad really, really good.

That gives me for the first time since I arrived - it's the first time that I have all six attacking players available for the game.

I've had matches with only one and now finally, I have six.

So, I can have people playing, people on the bench, rotate the players.

And our attacking options for this match are really good." STORY: Jose Mourinho launched an impassioned defence of Harry Kane's form under his playing style at Tottenham Hotspur after television pundit Paul Merson suggested the England striker would struggle in the Portuguese manager's system.

Merson, a pundit with Sky Sports, said 26-year-old Kane would consider switching clubs if Mourinho continued adopting a conservative style in the Premier League, like they did in their 1-1 draw with Manchester United last week.

Kane has scored seven goals in 10 games under Mourinho but struggled to make an impact against United -- his first match since returning from a hamstring surgery in January -- and Mourinho said Merson was wrong to judge him based on one game.

There was good news on the injury front for Mourinho who confirmed forward Lucas Moura was available after recovering from an injury while Dele Alli is also in contention after serving his one-match suspension.