Tottenham Hotspur interim boss Ryan Mason has insisted Harry Kane's decision to take a solo lap of honour after Wednesday's 2-1 loss to Aston Villa should not be seen as a sign of his impending exit from the club.
After most of his team-mates had already gone down the tunnel, Kane walked around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to applaud the 10,000 fans who had made their long-awaited return to the ground - a situation which undeniably felt like an emotional goodbye.
It may have been Kane's final home game for Spurs, with the striker pushing for a move away from the club this summer, but Mason insisted there was nothing abnormal with Kane's actions after the match.
"It's normal," Mason said of Kane's lap (via football.london). "If anyone has been at the last home game of the season while Harry Kane has played at this football club, he has been pretty consistent in going around the pitch, clapping the fans and getting a good reaction.
"Nothing has changed this season to home games in previous seasons, it's normal."
Mason was also quick to deny suggestions that the chaos surrounding Kane was to blame for their underwhelming performance, which saw them throw away an early lead and lose some footing in the race for a Europa League spot.
"No I don't think so," Mason said. "If we started the game terribly and were 2-0 down after ten minutes maybe you could say that, but we didn't. We were 1-0 up in ten minutes and in control. So no, I don't believe that.
"We are professionals, we are paid to do a job. The players were fully focused on the match. It is really disappointing we have lost the game tonight.
"The hope and expectation was to win, we haven't done that, the players are disappointed, the fans are and I am sure those people at home are as well."
Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are all chasing Kane's signature this summer, but 90min understands Daniel Levy has made it clear he will not even humour the idea of selling his star, not least to a rival.
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Source: 90min
