Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has praised Harry Kane and is pleased to see him scoring after the forward’s brace during their FA Cup fourth round tie against Brighton, with the England captain playing a key role. Spurs beat the Seagulls 3-1 to move into the next round of the competition.

Few players have struggled for form this season as much as Harry Kane has as his transfer saga last summer has taken a toll on the forward. So much so, that after 19 appearances in the league, Kane has netted just five goals with another ten more across various other competitions. Yet the forward has looked well out of sorts for most of the season but things have slowly changed over the last few months.

Antonio Conte’s appointment combined with an uptick of form for Tottenham has seen Kane perk up with the forward netting six goals in his last seven games across all competitions. That includes a brace against Brighton in Spurs’ FA Cup fourth round tie against Brighton, which saw Conte praise the England captain. The Italian was overjoyed that Kane’s work ethic and commitment is starting to showcase with goals and believes things are improving, slowly but steadily.

“Harry, in the past, in the games that he didn’t score, I liked his performance. Harry is a player who’s scored a lot in the past as a number nine. But what we can appreciate – me and the whole team – is his attitude and commitment for the whole team. I think this is the most important thing for us,” Conte said, reported Sky Sports.

“Then, for sure, to score two goals is important because he’s a number nine, he’s used to scoring goals. We are working on the physical condition with the team. We’re trying to improve the intensity, also during the training sessions. I think all these situations can improve the performance with all the players.”