Mauricio Pochettino believes Harry Kane and Ryan Mason have not been able to show the same level of consistency since they returned from England duty and hopes to see a big improvement when Spurs face Newcastle . Kane has been one of the stars of the Premier League , scoring 29 goals in all competitions for Tottenham , and is just one away from becoming their first player since Gary Lineker in 1992 to hit 30 goals in a season . The England forward has been nominated for both PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year . England call-up hurt the form of Harry Kane , according to his Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino . Pochettino believes that midfielder Ryan Mason has also been affected by the call-up . Mason has been one of the best young midfielders in England this season and has burst on to the international scene in his first full season in the top flight . But since being called into Roy Hodgson ’ s squad for the first time for the games against Lithuania and Italy , the duo have been well below their best as Spurs slumped to a goalless draw against Burnley and a shock 1-0 home defeat against Aston Villa last weekend . Pochettino said : ‘ When players get their first call-up , they try to show they are good enough and try to impress the national manager , and because they are over-motivated they expend a lot of energy . ‘ When you come back to the team , the consequence is that for two or three weeks you are a little bit down . It is normal and this happened at Southampton too . ‘ I remember that we were third in the table and we went to play against Arsenal in November . If we won , with three points we ’ d have been first in the table . The performance wasn ’ t good . Why ? Because we ’ d spent a lot of energy and it was difficult to keep our focus on the normal life . Pochettino hopes the pair can improve their standard of recent performances against Newcastle . Kane scored on his England debut after coming on as a substitute against Lithuania at Wembley last month . ‘ I remember my first call-up for Argentina against Holland . I was up on a cloud for a month after it because it was unbelievable to play for the national team . When I got back to Espanyol it was difficult . I ’ d been away for 15 days with my national team and I came back and I said , “ Oh , but now I play with Redondo , Batistuta ... ” You feel like a superstar and then you have to go back to Espanyol. ’ Meanwhile , Pochettino has told supporters to judge him on where Tottenham finish next season . He added : ‘ This season was one of transition . We brought a lot of young players , we got to a cup final at Wembley . Next season we need to build a team to fight for the top four . ’
Mauricio Pochettino says KaneHarry Kane has struggled since England debut . Also believes his team-mate Ryan Mason is suffering as well . 21-year-old Harry Kane has scored 29 goals in all competitions this season .