Harry Kane has questioned the mentality of English fans after being subjected to ridicule on social media over the last few weeks.
The Tottenham forward says some supporters are waiting to say “we told you so” if England do not do well at the World Cup this summer.
Kane was ridiculed by fans on social media after his decision to appeal the awarding of a Tottenham goal at Stoke to Christian Eriksen.
He then became the butt of an attempted joke which was posted on the FA Twitter feed, after Spurs lost 2-1 to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final.
Kane is not the only England player to have been derided on social media, with his Spurs team-mate Dele Alli and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling also regularly criticised, something Kane struggles to understand.
“It is strange, I think it is a mentality thing,” Kane said after scoring his 27th Premier League goal of the season in Spurs’ 2-0 win over Watford on Monday.
“It is easier these days to maybe banter England players or take the mick out of England players, if we don’t do well in the World Cup it’s, ‘Oh we told you so’.
“It’s maybe a weaker mentality, but it is what it is, as a team we are focused on what we need to do. We have got to go with a mindset and a belief that we can win, we try and win everything we do and the World Cup is no different.
“On social media you can get a few people that don’t see eye-to-eye but that is part of fans and opinions.
“Everyone is passionate about their clubs and rightly so but as a nation when it comes to the World Cup that is the most important thing is the nation, that’s what comes first.
Highlights: Tottenham 2-0 Watford
“For me personally, I have always engaged with my fans, there are a small minority of fans that maybe go over the mark, but that is life, you can’t get too down about it.”
The 24-year-old insists he has shrugged the negativity off, after Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino claimed he was “sad” about the FA Cup tweet and “disappointed” by the goal-claiming jibes.
“The FA tweet was a silly tweet, we all know that,” Kane added. “I talked to the gaffer about it and all he was saying was would other countries do that to their own players, probably not.
“It is something that has gone, it was two weeks ago or whatever it was, I am over it.
“The gaffer (Mauricio Pochettino) said I was sad, I am focused. I am a guy who gets on with things.
“If it happens, it happens, I move on, I look forward, I look forward to the next game, that’s all I worry about, getting out on the pitch and doing my job.”
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