Andre Villas-Boas feels Tottenham must secure a top-four finish if they are to consider their season to have been a success.
Spurs have spent much of the 2012/13 campaign in and around the UEFA Champions League places, but have work to do if they are to get over that particular line.
With North London rivals Woolwich breathing down their neck, and with Merseyside duo Everton and Liverpool still in the hunt, Villas-Boas knows his side have little margin for error.
"Our ultimate objective is Champions League qualification. If we don't achieve it we have to consider what has been achieved this season as steps forward."
Andre Villas-Boas
He hopes past disappointments will not come back to haunt Tottenham and concedes that if they were to suffer a late drop down the standings, it would be difficult to argue that he has taken things forward.
"The circumstances, players, leaders, training are different. So at this moment, it has nothing to do with past experiences.
"Obviously it can happen. We have to reflect on it like on the late goals we suffered this season. The more you work on it the more you will get out of it. It has happened before, but it doesn't mean it will happen again.
"Our ultimate objective is Champions League qualification. If we don't achieve it we have to consider what has been achieved this season as steps forward, which are positive for the club and the team going forward, bearing in the mind the players the team lost.
"But it's not up to me to judge. If you want to move forward, you move forward by qualifying for the Champions League."
Big words, and today will be a real marker of how well he can stop the blip. I still dont think that missing out should be used too harshly against AVB should it come to that.
Transitional season still..COYS
Spurs have spent much of the 2012/13 campaign in and around the UEFA Champions League places, but have work to do if they are to get over that particular line.
With North London rivals Woolwich breathing down their neck, and with Merseyside duo Everton and Liverpool still in the hunt, Villas-Boas knows his side have little margin for error.
"Our ultimate objective is Champions League qualification. If we don't achieve it we have to consider what has been achieved this season as steps forward."
Andre Villas-Boas
He hopes past disappointments will not come back to haunt Tottenham and concedes that if they were to suffer a late drop down the standings, it would be difficult to argue that he has taken things forward.
"The circumstances, players, leaders, training are different. So at this moment, it has nothing to do with past experiences.
"Obviously it can happen. We have to reflect on it like on the late goals we suffered this season. The more you work on it the more you will get out of it. It has happened before, but it doesn't mean it will happen again.
"Our ultimate objective is Champions League qualification. If we don't achieve it we have to consider what has been achieved this season as steps forward, which are positive for the club and the team going forward, bearing in the mind the players the team lost.
"But it's not up to me to judge. If you want to move forward, you move forward by qualifying for the Champions League."
Big words, and today will be a real marker of how well he can stop the blip. I still dont think that missing out should be used too harshly against AVB should it come to that.
Transitional season still..COYS