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Kane and Austin the future says QPR boss Chris Ramsey

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Chris Ramsey is unsurprised by Harry Kane's success

Chris Ramsey has called on Premier League clubs to put their faith in home-grown talent rather than big-money imports with "exotic names".

The QPR boss was responding to the idea of Harry Kane and Charlie Austin playing together for England in the future.

Ramsey – a coach at Tottenham between 2004 and last year - helped guide Kane from Spurs Academy to their first team, and reckons he fully deserves an England call-up.

Ramsey will face former employers Spurs on Saturday – but played down the idea that any ‘inside knowledge’ could help gain the upper hand at Loftus Road.

 "I think they are both very good players, both hard-working, both very focused, and I'm sure that they would be a match for any defence if they played together,” Ramsey said of a Kane-Austin England partnership.

I wouldn't say I'm one of the best-equipped managers to know how to handle these young Tottenham players - I'm not kryptonite for them.
Chris Ramsey

"I think Harry Kane has been good enough for England for a while.

"We tend to bash a lot of the young players in and around the clubs.

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"We tend to look at people from abroad and just automatically think they are better, just because they are from other countries with exotic names.

"It's not just Harry Kane I'm thinking of - I'm looking at loads of other clubs with loads of other English players that could be considered for the Premier League.

"Because managers are under pressure, they tend to stick to what would be seen as the tried and tested expensive players, when we do have a lot of good English players who could play in the Premier League, gain the experience.

"They can play on the international stage, and let's treat them the same way that we treat the more exotic-named players.

"Because if we don't give them the experience to play in the Premier League we're never, ever going to be able to have a strong national team.

"We need to be able to treat them the same way, be able to give them the same stick, instead of treating them more harshly than the players that earn a lot more money, and cost a lot more money."

Ramsey admitted Tottenham came under fire for preferring Kane to Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor last season when Tim Sherwood was in charge at White Hart Lane.

"First of all it was me, Tim (Sherwood) and Les (Ferdinand) who were involved in the coaching and the dealing with that," Ramsey said.

"Harry probably learned quite a bit from Les in the training sessions we did there.

Harry Kane celebrates after equalising for Tottenham against Arsenal
Image: Kane: Enjoying a stellar season

"When you're working with developing players, you have to dream alongside the player: if you don't you're not believing in what you're teaching.

"Has Harry Kane surprised me? No.

"Sometimes you need an opportunity to play.

"When we played him at the back end of last year, the fans weren't having it, were they?

"They were trying to get the galacticos on the pitch.

"We had to stick to our guns and we got a lot of flak for it.

"I wouldn't say I'm one of the best-equipped managers to know how to handle these young Tottenham players - I'm not kryptonite for them.

"I haven't got any special formulas to stop them, other than maximising the abilities of the players that we've got here.

"I know their strengths, and that's the thing that you need to be mindful of - their strengths."

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