Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he’d rather finish fourth than win a trophy.
In an admission that further underlines the growing importance of television money, he has insisted that Champions League qualification is more important than winning the Europa League – a trophy Spurs haven’t won since 1984.
Spurs climbed to third in the Barclays Premier League table with Saturday’s 2-1 win at Swansea, where they were once again inspired by Gareth Bale.
The victory, combined with Chelsea’s defeat at Southampton, leaves the north London club well-placed to secure a top-four finish, although they are due to face a vital run of league meetings against Chelsea, Everton and Manchester City next month.
Tottenham are also challenging on the European front, and face Basle on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
While Villas-Boas insists he wants to win the trophy, he reminded reporters that “it is always the league position that determines the success of the season.”
He also hinted that there might be a number of changes to the team when the Swiss arrive, especially after the hectic Easter fixture list.
“We understand that we have to keep the team fresh and we are able to rotate as we have top-quality players that allow us to do so,” he said.
“But we dream of winning trophies so our focus on the Europa League won’t shift. Now we are in the quarter-finals, we can only dream of winning the trophy.”
Despite their strong league position, Villas-Boas knows the job of securing a place in European football’s premier competition is not done yet. But it’s not, he says, a case of feeling any additional pressure.
“The fact that we are going to be third this week doesn’t put more or less doubt on ourselves or make us over-confident. We have to continue to do our job.
“You always get comfortable when you are further ahead from the pack but the other teams are so near. But it is not the first time that the other teams have been so near to us and it shifts every week.”
He added: “It may depend on what happens between Chelsea and Manchester United in the FA Cup as it could mean our game against them is postponed for later.
“But we have Everton, Manchester City and Chelsea to come, if we can gather points in those games it could be decisive in terms of our final place in the league.”
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