(Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane does not expect Premier League champions Manchester City and runner-up Liverpool to step off the gas this season and said the London side have to match the relentless approach of the top two to keep up.
City clinched the league title with 98 points to Liverpool's 97 as part of a domestic treble last season while the Merseyside club won their sixth European championship.
Asked by the British media if Tottenham were best equipped to compete with the dominant duo this season, Kane said: "Yes hopefully, but it's still going to take a lot of hard work."
Liverpool lead the league with three wins from as many games while City are second, two points behind them.
"As you're seeing ... there's no letting up from them," said Kane, whose team lost 1-0 to Newcastle United on Sunday.
"I said before the start of the season that if we could put a run together ... maybe winning for two-three months on the spin without dropping points, then that's what it's going to take.
"It's a disappointing start but there is a long way to go ... there are a lot of big games ahead of us."
One of those games is against local rivals Arsenal on Sunday and Kane said three points at the Emirates Stadium would be a massive boost ahead of next month's international break.
"You never want to go into an international break having lost or drawn," the England international added.
"A north London derby is as big as it gets. If we win that it makes the first four games a bit brighter. It won't be easy, but we have to make sure we're prepared."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)