Harry Kane intends to buck a recent trend at Tottenham Hotspur and reach the 20-goal mark as he continues to enjoy one of the feelgood stories of the season.

The 21-year-old scored his 14th of the campaign in this win over Burnley and he stands to become only the second Tottenham player to make it to 20 goals since 2007-08; Gareth Bale got 26 in all competitions in 2013-14, the season before he departed for Real Madrid.

Kane is living the dream; a Tottenham supporter who grew up chanting the names of Teddy Sheringham and Robbie Keane at White Hart Lane, he can now hear the home support lauding him as a local boy doing very good.

There have been many startling indicators of Kane’s rise to prominence and the latest on Saturday was the relegation of Emmanuel Adebayor to the status of foot-note. The Togo striker was available after his run of injuries, illness and compassionate leave but Mauricio Pochettino omitted him from the squad. “We believe that the best players for this afternoon were the 18 players that were in the squad,” he said.

Kane said: “My first target was 10 goals and I reached that and my next target is 20 goals. I’ll continue to take each game as it comes and try to do my best. I know that Spurs have been looking for a 20-goal striker for a few years now and I think it can be me. I have been given a chance this season and have done the right things so far.

“It’s great to hear the crowd sing my name, like when I came off the pitch against Burnley. It makes me feel very happy and quite emotional as well. I was a fan here once singing the name of someone else. I used to sing the name of Teddy Sheringham, he was a big idol of mine, and Robbie Keane. To hear them singing my name in games that mean a lot to the fans, means a lot to me.”

Spurs face Leicester next before back-to-back matches against Manchester United and Chelsea. Contests against the leading sides have traditionally seen the north London club come unstuck and Kane feels that is as much a mental issue as it is to do with talent. “Maybe it was psychological. In some instances we were probably beaten before we went out there,” he said.

“But I think we now have great confidence within the squad and are playing very well. I think we will be very confident going into those games. Hopefully we can win at Leicester on Boxing Day and take some more confidence and momentum going into those games.”

Victories over United and Chelsea would also provide Spurs with the belief that they can achieve something which has become close to a holy grail at White Hart Lane – finishing above Arsenal, a feat the team have not managed since 1995.

“I’m a Spurs fan and any Spurs fan will tell you it’s a big thing,” Kane said. “I know how much it means to everybody involved with the club. But we’ve got to take every game as it comes and keep trying to get wins. Things have been going well for us in the last couple of weeks. Hopefully we can continue to perform well.”

For Burnley, meanwhile, there was encouragement to take from their showing in north London as they prepare for the Boxing Day visit of Liverpool. “My assistant has a great saying that there has to be a future in what you do. And there is a future in that performance,” said Sean Dyche, the Burnley manager. “If you keep performing at that level with moments of quality then you will win some matches.”

Man of the match Érik Lamela (Tottenham)