The remarkable rise of Harry Kane has come as a surprise to many Norwich City supporters but Alex Tettey knew there was something special about his former team-mate.

Eastern Daily Press: Alexander Tettey of Norwich and Harry Kane of Norwich before an FA Cup match at London Road, Peterborough. Picture by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images LtdAlexander Tettey of Norwich and Harry Kane of Norwich before an FA Cup match at London Road, Peterborough. Picture by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd (Image: ©Focus Images Limitedwww.focus-images.co.uk+447814 482222)

The Tottenham Hotspur star will face the Canaries for the first time this afternoon since his unsuccessful loan stint during the 2012/13 season.

Kane shot to stardom with Spurs and England last season after scoring 32 goals, but looked a very different player when Chris Hughton brought him on loan to Norwich as a 19-year-old.

He played alongside Tettey – who had also just joined City, on a free transfer from Rennes – and both have since gone on to become popular players with club and country.

'It's unbelievable,' Tettey said of Kane's rise. 'When he was here you could see he had goal-scoring talent in him and he was unlucky.

'I think when we played our first game together (a 1-0 win over Doncaster in the League Cup, with Tettey scoring) he broke his toe so he had to go back to Tottenham. So his spell here sadly got interrupted by that injury but ever since then he has just carried on and he is doing really well. But hopefully our defenders can keep him quiet on Saturday.'

While Kane's finishing has received high praise from all quarters, Tettey's has been the subject of a few jokes among supporters and team-mates this week.

The 29-year-old midfielder scored the vital goal in City's landmark 2-1 victory at Old Trafford last weekend, with an unconventional toe-poke which left United goalkeeper David de Gea flummoxed.

'If I score with my backside I will be happy!' Tettey said with a smile. 'If I score with my head I will always get it (jokes) but I'm good at taking it as well so for me it's fine, I'm just happy to score.

'I have a son now and we go out to play sometimes and I tell him to kick and he's a little 17-month-old so he kicks with his toe – so maybe I got the idea from him!

'I just knew I had to get in a quick shot because otherwise they would close me down, it's just improvised and it worked, I scored a goal so I'm happy. He (de Gea) had no clue what to do, he didn't know where the ball was after I finished so I'm very happy with the finish – it's a very good goal.'

But while the Norway international has enjoyed the week following that win at Old Trafford – the first achieved by a City team since 1989 – he knows his focus must now be fully on Spurs.

'We have been pleased with the win and the performance and obviously getting the three points that nobody believed, apart from us, that it could happen. So we're really pleased,' he continued.

'We have continued as if nothing has happened, it has been heads down since the game and our heads are on Tottenham because we know if we don't get anything from Tottenham then we know the game hasn't given us anything, it's just three points and that's it.

'We want to play well against Tottenham and get something from the game and then Villa at home if we get three points then that will help us to improve and to go further up the table.'