Dominic Solanke has called on his Tottenham colleagues to replicate the level of performance they displayed in the victory over West Ham, as he reflected on sharing the pitch with Spurs' all-time top scorer Harry Kane. After a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Brighton prior to the international break, Tottenham roared back with an emphatic 4-1 weekend win.
Solanke, who recently earned his second England cap, believes the loss to Brighton should serve as a valuable lesson for Ange Postecoglou's side. "It was huge. Before that Brighton game we were on a good run of form," said Solanke.
"We started that game well, maybe got a bit complacent so it was important we bounced back and showed we had learned from it. Speaking to a couple of the boys after, I think we need to play like this as much as we can because we know we can do it.
"Like I said, the last game before this we showed we can do it in one half and not in the second half, but we need to do this consistently."
Despite not scoring in the clash with West Ham, Solanke's energetic performance drew comparisons to Kane, especially with his relentless pressing that troubled the opposition defence. An injury to Kane opened the door for Solanke to make another appearance for England, coming off the bench in the match against Greece earlier in the month, marking his first national team action since 2017.
Solanke, who then remained on the bench during the 3-1 victory in Finland, had the opportunity to glean insights from the former Spurs striker. Solanke shared: "Yeah, of course we spoke a lot while we were there together and we have this (Tottenham) in common now so we spoke and he is a great guy. A great lad to learn from.
"Not really (any advice). We were just speaking about his experiences and stuff like that. Obviously he has done so much in football and it’s nice to pick his brain."
Reflecting on his own performance, Solanke said: "I feel like I helped the team (against West Ham) and it is important we all contribute in different ways.I didn’t get the goal, which is obviously frustrating for me personally, but it was a great game and if we keep playing like this we’ll be in a good place."
While Solanke put in a solid effort against West Ham, Dejan Kulusevski emerged as the standout player. Praising his teammate, Solanke remarked: "He is a great player. This season he has been phenomenal for us and we need players to be on top form, especially in the Premier League because we want to do as well as we can."
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