Harry Kane reveals Antonio Conte half-time message during Tottenham Hotspur’s win at Crystal Palace

Harry Kane has revealed the half-time request made by Antonio Conte that inspired Tottenham Hotspur to a 4-0 win at Crystal Palace.

Spurs endured some uncomfortable moments during a lively opening 45 minutes at Selhurst Park as their hosts enjoyed the better of the game. But that all changed after half-time as Conte’s men eventually eased to a routine three points.

Kane opened the scoring just three minutes into the second-half when he headed home from a fine cross from Ivan Perisic and the England captain doubled his tally and his side’s lead six minutes later with a stunning finish across Palace keeper Vicente Guaita.

Two became three midway through the half when Matt Doherty finished well after he was found by Heung-Min Son before the South Korean international rounded off a much-improved display when he netted the fourth goal of the night with just over quarter of an hour remaining.

Kane revealed Conte demanded more quality in the final third from his side as he assessed their performance during half-time and was left satisfied after a strong second-half display.

He told Sky Sports: “(It was) really important. We’ve not come back with the best results in the last couple of games. We did well against Brentford to get something out of that game and then obviously losing at home was a blow a few days ago.

“It was an important game today, a tough game so it was nice to put that performance in. I think we started well, we started on the front foot, we switched the ball well and created a few half-chances so it was more just getting back to that (in the second-half).

“They had a spell about 25 to 30 minutes in when they got on top and it (the half-time message from Conte) was just moving the ball quick, getting the ball in behind, quality in the final third. It was great to keep a clean sheet and it was down to the boys in the final third to make something happen and that’s what we did.”

Spurs return to action on Saturday lunchtime when they host League One club Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round.