Harry Kane has said the absence of new signings at Tottenham Hotspur this summer has given the club’s existing players “huge belief” after they continued their perfect start to the season with victory over Manchester United.

Spurs were the only professional team in England and the only side in the top five European leagues that did not recruit any new players in the summer transfer window.

Mauricio Pochettino, the Spurs manager, insisted the club was taking a brave decision by not “signing for the sake of signing” and has since overseen three consecutive victories at the start of their Premier League campaign.

“The gaffer said he is not just going to bring in players for the sake of it,” said Kane, who scored the first of his side’s three goals at Old Trafford. “What that does is give the rest of the squad huge belief because it shows he has belief in us, so now we have to repay him for that and repay the club for that.”

Kane was joined in attack by Lucas Moura, who scored twice in the second half as Spurs punished United's haphazard defending. Moura moved to Spurs in a £25million deal from Paris St-Germain in January, but struggled for game time in the second half of last season.

“Lucas is one of those that some fans might have thought ‘is he going to stay, is he going to go?’ He has stayed, he has worked hard and he has done well,” Kane said.

“He has deserved his place in the team and that is what it is about. He wants to keep his place and we all do. The competition for places is high and we have just got to keep it going.”

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It is only the fifth time in their history that Spurs have begun a top-flight season with three wins from three games, and Kane said this result had laid down a marker to the rest of the league.

“100 per cent,” he said. “We have maybe fallen behind at the start of the season in the last few years, so we have to stay up there from the very start. The only way to do that is to come here and win, and all the other big games as well.”

Hugo Lloris, the Spurs captain who was charged with drink driving last week, said the performance was a demonstration of the team’s strength. “There are always some key moments in the season and I think this game came at the perfect time,” said Lloris.

“It was a tough week, especially because of my mistake, but I think the team showed strength.”

On Lucas, who also scored against Fulham last weekend, Lloris added: “It was not easy for him last season because he came in the middle of the season. But he has shown how strong he is in his head. He had the possibility to play in pre-season and show his skills and talent, and in the last two games he has been decisive.”

Kane also revealed that Pochettino told his players to make more runs in behind the United back-line — a strategy that proved particularly effective for Moura’s first goal, which came after Christian Eriksen had burst down the right.

Their start the season is made all the more impressive by the fact that nine Spurs players featured in the final weekend of this summer's World Cup.

Players such as Kane and Dele Alli had limited time to prepare for the new season, but Kane said: “You have got to stay fit all year round nowadays, just because of the standard of the Premier League and the Champions League.

“It’s always about mentally — can you get that rest? — and I feel good, I feel fine. The gaffer is very good at managing that, so if he ever sees that me or any other players at the World Cup maybe need a mental rest he might give us a few days off here and there.”