Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has told Harry Kane to remain patient and continue working hard in order to end his goalless start to the season.

The 23-year-old has yet to register in four games for club and country this campaign, the most recent shutout coming in a 1-0 win for England away at Slovakia.

Kane's goalscoring woes stretch back 10 games going into last season, following a poor individual showing at Euro 2016, but Pochettino claims that last term's Premier League top scorer should not be written off following an equally slow start 12 months ago.

"Every time he touches the ball, we wait for him to score, and it is difficult when you need to be fit, to give your best. It is about patience, time, hard work from him and I am sure he will start to score again," he told reporters.

"Harry is starting to be much better. It was the same at the end of 2014-15. He went away with England-U21s and the expectation was to win the European Championships. But he didn't score in three games and it was a big disappointment for him.

"Now it is the same situation but he is more mature and more experienced. It is a different period in his life and there is no doubt he will start to score again."

Kane is expected to start for Spurs when they take on Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday, but full-back Danny Rose will not feature due to an injury picked up on international duty.