• Premier League

AVB: Spurs not ready for title tilt

Andre Villas-Boas says his new players will need time to gel at Spurs © PA Photos

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Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has played down any talk of a title tilt from his side following a flurry of summer signings.

The arrival of seven new players at White Hart Lane during the transfer window was offset by the departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.

That hasn't stopped optimism among fans that Tottenham could be set to challenge at the top of the Premier League, but Villas-Boas has stressed that his young side is still developing as a unit.

"The circumstances are difficult," he said. "The investment that we have made raises expectations in people but what we have to do is create a team that bonds together.

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"That takes time and we see that our opponents are one step ahead as they have players who have been together for many years - that is an advantage that we don't have.

"I think we have invested a lot in young players that have real potential. Obviously we will have to work with them to make sure they develop into the world stars that we think they can become.

"All of them have great ambition to succeed and win titles which is one of the criteria that we wanted. Now it is about creating a team that bonds together and assumes the responsibility of winning those titles. This is what we have now and hopefully we can get a good response."

Villas-Boas is keen to move on from the derby defeat to Arsenal as soon as possible and is targeting three points in the game against Norwich.

"I'm happy with the start we have made but losing to Arsenal is never easy for any Spurs fan so now we have to make sure we bounce back," he added.

"Whatever result we had against Arsenal, that would not affect how we approach our next game against Norwich. We have to concentrate on winning that one.

"[It's been a] good international break for us. We have not had any injuries so we are looking forward to getting back into action."

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