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Mauricio Pochettino Denies Comparing Harry Kane to Ronaldo and Messi as Spurs Man Leads UCL Scoring

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Maurico Pochettino has rubbished the notion of Harry Kane being on par with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, despite his prolific form in front of goal these last three years.

The England international is one of Europe's best strikers, having won two consecutive Golden Boot awards in the Premier League, but his manager doesn't believe he can be compared to the Primera Division attackers just yet, based on his age and style of play.

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Kane, who notched his first Champions League hat-trick against Apoel during midweek, has been tipped to improve even further. Yet at the moment, Pochettino will brush any likening to the superstars aside.

"He is one of the best strikers in the world and because he's still so young, he can improve," he told reporters on Thursday. "His potential, his professionalism; he has a gap to improve a lot."

"I never said he is better than Cristiano and Lionel Messi, who are at a different level. They are the best and are showing that for the last five to 10 years.

"We cannot put so much pressure on Harry because he is so young... Harry is a striker, a killer; they are killers too but play in different positions and have different styles. It will not help Harry if we start comparing him to these players."

The Argentinian coach will watch his team attempt to collect three points against Huddersfield when Premier League action resumes this weekend. And while he expects a tough challenge, especially based on the fact that the newcomers have had more time to prepare, Pochettino has backed his team to withstand the pressure.

"A big challenge. I think they will be very motivated to play against us and have had the whole week to prepare for the game against Tottenham. But of course I know we will arrive in our best condition and ready to compete. That is most important."