Harry Kane Looking to Make Up for Lost Time with Tottenham in Champions League

Harry Kane's analysis of what it took to beat West Ham United may apply to what Tottenham Hotspur need to do to stay in the Champions League. Indeed, his evaluation of their performance in the London derby could similarly describe their overall experiences in Europe so far this season.

"I don't think we played great today, I think we can play a lot better than we did. We didn't create as many chances as we'd have liked," the striker said after a 3-2 comeback win in which he scored twice.

"But look, we dug deep, that's what London derbies are all about. Sometimes you've got to crawl over the finish line, somehow get there, somehow get a win and we done that today."

Tottenham sit third in Champions League Group E. With two matches remaining, they are four points behind leaders and next opponents Monaco, two behind Bayer Leverkusen and two ahead of CSKA Moscow.

The permutations for how things could play out are complicated.

Tottenham essentially need to beat the Ligue 1 side or they are relying on Leverkusen dropping points to CSKA to avoid a tense and messy conclusion. Yet, even victory over the principality club does not guarantee progression.

It is not how the north Londoners envisioned their return to Europe's premier competition after five years. They are still in with a chance, though, and for that they will be grateful to have Kane fit and firing again.

After missing the best part of two months injured, he played 73 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal before the international break. Not involved for England against Scotland and sent home prior to the Spain friendly, Kane then lasted the whole game for Spurs against West Ham.

Speaking prior to facing the Hammers, his manager Mauricio Pochettino said he would be waiting to see how the striker did in that game before deciding his availability for Monaco. With another big Premier League game against Chelsea following, there was understandable interest in asking if he could convincingly perform in all three.

His late double won them the three points and local bragging rights. Although admitting it was "tough" playing what amounted to 98 minutes (counting stoppage time), the generally sturdy, durable Englishman declared himself available for the next part of this crucial run.

"I'll always be there for the gaffer if he wants to pick me, obviously it's his choice," Kane said. "But yeah, I feel fit, I don't think I probably played the best I've ever played today, but at the end of the day, it's what I'm there for, to put the ball in the back of the net—I was happy to do that."

The 23-year-old played in Tottenham's Champions League group-opening 2-1 defeat to Monaco but missed their next three fixtures because of his injury.

That first appearance for the club at their temporary European accommodation, Wembley Stadium, was typical Kane.

Following a bright start, the team toiled following sucker-punch strikes from Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar. The frontman continued to close down, stretch play and test the visitors the best he could. A first-half booking for a slide tackle on Fabinho typified a frustrating night, but he also won the corner that led to Toby Alderweireld's headed goal and a measure of hope.

"We were better than Monaco, and you can see that in all the stats, but in football, you pay when you make mistakes, and we paid today because we conceded two goals from two shots on target," Pochettino told Spurs' official website afterwards. "At the same time, I think we created chances but we weren't clinical enough."

Issues converting opportunities became a theme during Kane's absence, both domestically and in Europe. The reality of how they got on without him in the latter was more nuanced than them just missing their main scorer, though. As the Monaco game showed, one man alone cannot always deliver for a team.

Spurs were persistent against CSKA Moscow and eventually earned a 1-0 win when Erik Lamela's through ball for Heung-Min Son finally broke the Russians' resistance (see below).

Pochettino's side were unlucky not to take a lead in the first-half at Leverkusen, with Lamela and Vincent Janssen going close to scoring. They were also lucky to survive unscathed after the interval, as goalkeeper Hugo Lloris' save-of-the-season contender denied Javier Hernandez from point-blank range.

By the time of the return meeting with Leverkusen at Wembley, it is fair to suggest Kane's greater mobility than Janssen or his bigger presence than Son might have made a more telling difference.

His return to fitness over the last couple of games has shown he is not the sole solution to ongoing creative difficulties. But the known quantity of a proven threat like the England international can at least mask them to an extent, occupying defenders and maybe catching them out like he did with his first goal against West Ham.

Whatever impact Kane could have had on Tottenham's Champions League campaign up until now, it is a shame their top scorer in 2015-16 has been unable to reap the rewards of his significant contribution getting them there.

In keeping with his encouraging nature, he backed his team-mates and certainly enjoyed their win over CSKA (see below). Missing out on the chance to test himself at the level must still have hurt.

"

Big game tonight! Let's bring them points home lads! Good luck! ⚽️ #UCL #COYS

— Harry Kane (@HKane) September 27, 2016"

He is not the only significant player in Spurs' history to miss out on European adventures.

Pochettino may relate to then-boss Bill Nicholson's despondency at the dominant Dave Mackay missing the 1963 European Cup Winners' Cup final against Atletico Madrid through injury. The story is recounted in Martin Cloake and Adam Powley's The Glory Glory Nights: The Official Story of Tottenham Hotspur in Europe.

"Before the game, Nicholson was unusually downbeat, the loss of Mackay weighing on his mind as he went through how good each Atletico player was. [Danny] Blanchflower stepped in, reminding those in the dressing room that they were more than capable of giving the Spaniards a few things to think about."

That they certainly did, thrashing them 5-1 to become the first English club to win a European trophy. Mackay was naturally disappointed at missing out but was also pleased for his colleagues.

Spurs had to make do without Ossie Ardiles, Ray Clemence, Glenn Hoddle and skipper Steve Perryman at various stages of their successful 1983-84 UEFA Cup run. The latter missed the final's second leg through an unfortunate suspension and was understandably gutted.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

"In all my years in Europe for Spurs, this was the campaign in which I felt I had more command over the direction of the Tottenham team and had done more to keep us in the competition," he said in the aforementioned book.

Spurs had to get by without notable first-teamers as recently as in the 2010-11 Champions League, too.

Captain Ledley King did not feature after the midway point of the group stage, while fellow centre-back Michael Dawson missed the middle chunk of their journey. Injuries cost Jermain Defoe playing time, and although Gareth Bale established his worldwide reputation during that season, even he missed their impressive, hard-fought win over AC Milan in the San Siro.

What all this says about the current Tottenham team not faring quite so well without one of their main men in Kane is debatable. Nonetheless, he has got good company in having to watch from the sidelines.

Assuming he is declared fit, Kane will be keen to make up for lost time against Monaco. He knows he and his team can still do better than their mixed effort against West Ham.

"We're not stupid as well, we didn't play as well as we'd liked today," he said after, tempering their delight at the victory. "We're not going to get too carried away, we're in training tomorrow and will probably look at the things we can do better for Tuesday night."

As for what Spurs can do to specifically improve in Europe, he believes it is a case of doubling down on what they do best: "We haven't got the results we'd have liked at Wembley, we've just got to play it better there. Yeah away from home—I don't think it bothers us where we play. It won't bother us we're away in Monaco, we'll go with our game plan, attacking football and try and win the game."

Tottenham may have won there without Kane. They definitely have a better chance of doing so with him.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.