Kane embracing senior role in England squad

[June 06, 2017]  June 6 (Reuters) - Striker Harry Kane sees himself as one of the leaders in the current England side, the 23-year-old has said ahead of his first senior appearance under Gareth Southgate in Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Scotland.

Premier League Golden Boot winner Kane has scored five goals in 17 appearances for the Lions and the Tottenham striker is already looking ahead to taking on more responsibility.

"I see myself as one of the leaders now in the team and I'm looking forward to it," Kane said at a sponsorship event.

"I'm only 23 but I feel that there are a lot of younger players in the team compared to me and I have a good relationship with them."

Kane said the presence of Tottenham team mates helped them build stronger bonds.

"I have a good relationship with all the players, the older, the younger and there are quite a few Spurs boys in there as well," Kane said.

"It helps as we play with each other, train with each other day-in, day-out, so we know each other very well on the pitch, but off the pitch also.

"If someone is feeling a bit down, or if they're not quite right then we are there to know that and help them out."

England travel to Scotland for the Group F World Cup qualifier and Kane expected a tougher encounter than their 3-0 win in the reverse fixture in November.

"It is a massive game; everyone knows how big England versus Scotland is with the rivalry that we have," he said.

"We know it will be a bit tougher doing it away from home but, with the team we have got and the confidence we have got, we know we just have to go out there and not get too caught up in the moment." (Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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