Kane is able as Spurs stone the Saints

There are no guarantees of trophies for Spurs this season, but at least they know they can keep on banking on Harry Kane.

He claimed his eighth hat-trick of the year – his second in successive matches – and that was almost just a minor point on a record-breaking afternoon for Tottenham’s incredible striker.

The Spurs goal machine needed a goal to eclipse Alan Shearer’s record for Premier League goals in a calendar year and he needed only 22 minutes to achieve that.

And after bagging his 37th of 2017 with a close-range header from Christian Eriksen’s free-kick, Kane was on hand for the tap-in of Hueng-Min Son’s cross before the break which took him past Lionel Messi’s 54 goals for club and country in the year.

The neat finish from Dele Alli’s exquisite pass after 67 minutes took him to 39 for the year. It was the 11th hat-trick of his career.

They can’t call him the King of White Hart Lane, because of the need to play at Wembley this season, but there is no disputing he is the King of Europe.

The simplicity of those strikes summed up the uncomplicated nature of the win for Spurs against a very limited Southampton, who badly missed the presence of the suspended Charlie Austin.

Mario Lemina did hit the bar for the visitors at the start of the second half, but within three minutes, Spurs had bagged two more goals to finish off what was never really a contest.

Alli, working his way back to the form which deserted him immediately after the famous home win over Real Madrid, helped himself to his eighth goal of the season after side-stepping ex-Chelsea man Oriol Romeu on the edge of the area and passing the ball into the net across Fraser Forster.

Then Alli turned provider with the lay-off in a counter-attack which allowed Son to thump home number four.

Kane almost bagged a volley with a far-post volley after a cross from deep from the marauding Danny Rose, but was not to be denied – clipping in a delicious pass from Alli on 67 minutes.

A few minutes before Kane completed his treble, Sofiane Boufal drilled past Hugo Lloris, and sub Dusan Tadic lifted a shot into the net through the fingers of Hugo Lloris eight minutes from time.

But those goals were mere footnotes as the home side carved out a hatful of unconverted chances as well as the ones they gleefully put away.

Tottenham: Lloris – Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Rose – Dier, Dembele (Sissoko 54) – Eriksen, Alli (Winks 84), Son (Lamela 76) – Kane. Subs not used: Vorm, Trippier, Llorente, Davies.