'Pack your bags': ESPN journalists SLAMMED by fans online after being caught MOCKING Tottenham striker Harry Kane's speech (VIDEO)

Two ESPN football journalists have been forced to apologize after they were caught mocking Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane in a mistakenly-published video.

Kane had scored his 149th goal in the English Premier League to move into the division's Top 10 all-time goalscorers list after winning, then scoring, a penalty against Brighton & Hove Albion to net his 11th goal in 12 appearances so far this season.

Kane's goalscoring achievement was certainly worthy of discussion, and ESPN convened a two-person panel to chat about Kane's goalscoring exploits, with journalist Mark Ogden joined by presenter Alexis Nunes.

However, the conversation that was initially published to YouTube didn't go quite as fans would have expected.

In what was clearly a botched first attempt, Ogden began, "The fact he's had about four or five straight 20-goal a season seasons for Tottenham. He's just so consistent, Harry Kane. He is probably the most..." before tripping over his words and waving his hand to the screen.

Nunes joked, "He's like, 'Do I have to talk about this mofo?'"

Ogden replied, "It's just really boring, isn't it?"

Then an unseen producer piped up, saying, "I hate hearing him speak. He's got a really weird voice... that's what stands out about him."

"For someone who speaks like that, thank God he plays football," quipped Nunes, as the trio laughed.

The comments provoked outrage from Tottenham fans, and promoted Ogden to issue an apology for the incident.

"An inappropriate conversation with our producer was accidentally posted publicly for a short time before being taken down. Our comments were clearly disrespectful and regrettable. We have the utmost respect for
@HKane, a consummate professional and role model to youngsters," he tweeted, tagging the Spurs striker in his message.

"We have contacted Tottenham Hotspur to sincerely apologize directly to @SpursOfficial and to Harry, in addition to the club’s supporters and to the ESPN FC audience."

Nunes also issued an apology via Twitter, posting an image containing the following message, "I'm truly sorry for the comments we made during a discussion that was inadvertently posted online. They were uncalled for an insensitive. I have the highest regard for Harry Kane, an accomplished athlete and leader. He deserves better from us as do the fans. We've all learned a lesson from this unfortunate mistake and again I apologize to Harry and Tottenham Hotspur."

Fans weren't impressed by the apologies, with some highlighting the mentions of "respect" in each statement.

One fan tweeted, "This is just lip service and insincere nonsense. Your immediate response being ‘accidentally posted’ says everything."

Another fan offered, "If you have 'the utmost respect' for the England captain, the words you used to describe him wouldnt have entered your head to banter with your colleague with. Your apology therefore is shallow and meaningless. How about you personally go visit Kane at Hotspur Way?"

While Nunes' apology was carefully posted so only Kane or Tottenham could reply, that didn't stop fans commenting on the situation on her other, open, posts.

One posted, "You don't deserve to be in the position you are in. Hopefully @ESPNFC does the right thing. Best of luck at your next job!"

Another said, "You can't be a journalist and make fun of people like kids on a playground. I actually think the kids would have more common sense.
Pack your bags."