Jamie O’Hara criticises Harry Kane after Tottenham defeat vs Brighton

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Jamie O’Hara has told talkSPORT that he does not understand why Harry Kane would want to go to The Masters while Tottenham Hotspur are fighting for the top-four in the Premier League.

Kane was seen at Augusta for the final round of the tournament shortly after helping Spurs thrash Aston Villa. The striker had actually provided a hat-trick of assists for Antonio Conte’s men.

And he was back in training by Tuesday, according to Football London. So he seemed to have more than enough time to prepare for Saturday’s clash with Brighton.

Unfortunately, Conte’s men missed the chance to move clear in the race for fourth spot in the Premier League. They were stunned by the Seagulls, losing 1-0 thanks to Leandro Trossard.

It actually marked the first game since the FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough at the start of March where Kane has failed to score or provide an assist for Tottenham.

And with that, some may have questioned whether heading across the Atlantic was the best idea. It certainly seems that fellow pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor felt that his trip affected Kane’s performance.

O’Hara suggested that Kane’s display was not down to the golf. But he did question why he would want to go at such a crucial stage in the season.

“I think he came out and said, ‘we’ve got eight cup finals’. Okay, well, would you go away a week before the cup final? You wouldn’t. I know he’s probably asked the manager, and the manager, because he loves Harry Kane and wants to keep him happy, has probably gone, ‘yeah’,” he told talkSPORT.

“But I would be sat there as a manager going, ‘why is my star striker wanting to go to America for one day when we’ve got huge games coming up?’ And I know they’ve been in great form. I don’t agree with Gabby that the reason he was poor was because he went to Augusta. But what I don’t like is why he want to go.”

Antonio Conte may have felt saying yes to Harry Kane would help Tottenham star more

Had Tottenham won on Saturday in spite of an underwhelming Kane display, no-one would be mentioning the striker’s trip away. And they have won games when he has been less influential.

Conte may have felt that letting him go was important to maintain his morale. Kane is clearly loving his football right now. And that has meant that he is perhaps playing the best stuff of his career at present.

As O’Hara notes, it is hard to see his trip impacting his performance at the weekend. But Spurs must have always known that there could be a backlash.