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AVB: Spurs face season-defining week

Andre Villas-Boas wants his Tottenham side to believe they have progressed as a club © PA Photos

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Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has said his side face a defining week in their push to secure a return to the Champions League.

Spurs face a must-win game against Southampton at White Hart Lane on Saturday before taking on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday in a fixture that is crucial to their top-four hopes.

Villas-Boas knows the moment has come for his side to make one last push to achieve their targets, believing there will still be a few upsets in the closing weeks of the season.

"The final sprint will be the deciding sprint, and we are in the frame," Villas-Boas said. "I firmly believe that points will still be dropped by all these teams that are competing. You have to include Everton in the frame.

"We have to keep our mind on achieving it. It would be simple if we win all our final four games, but we understand that is extremely difficult.

"If we can do it, we will get into the position where we want to be and, if we do our job, we will be successful.

"The objective is the Champions League. We also have to feel as if we have progressed as a club. To fight for that position for so long, it would be difficult to see it slip in the end."

Villas-Boas went on to suggest that Tottenham were still striving to join the elite ranks of the clubs they are competing with for a top-four spot.

"In the end, let me remind you that Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United and Man City play for titles in a different way to Tottenham," he explained.

"They have changed their ambition to have Champions League qualification as a minimum. For us, it is our maximum ambition at the moment - although we want to progress to what they are and what they represent."

Villas-Boas confirmed that midfielder Mousa Dembele is a doubt for the game against Southampton with a muscle injury, but striker Emmanuel Adebayor is back in contention after a knee problem ruled him out of Saturday's 2-2 draw at Wigan.

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