LONDON: Ange Postecoglou has insisted he is still aiming for a top-four finish that will secure Champions League football but accepts Tottenham have work to do before they can compete effectively with Europe's elite.
Tottenham are at home to Burnley today, with Postecoglou's team bidding to end a run of four straight defeats that have taken the shine off a promising first season under their Australian manager.
Fifth-placed Tottenham are seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa but have a game in hand over Unai Emery's men.
Villa have also struggled in recent games but the 1982 European Cup winners could assure themselves of Champions League football in the coming days.
Postecoglou, asked if he had given up on a top-four finish, told a pre-match press conference on Friday: "That's a harsh term, 'give up'.
"What does that mean, I come in here at 12 o'clock, have a latte, go home and just let the guys train?"
The former Celtic boss added: "I don't give up on anything. I'm here fighting tooth and nail every single day for everything I can get for this football club because that's my responsibility. I would not give up on any cause, even the most lost of causes, because then I'd be abstaining from my responsibilities.
"I want us to finish the season strong. I want us to try and win three games of football and see where that takes us.
"I never said I didn't care about finishing top four. What I said was finishing top four does not mean we're going to be the team I want us to be next year. That's not what will define us."
Postecoglou, explaining why there was more to competing in the Champions League than coming fourth in the Premier League, said: "Finishing fourth and getting into the Champions League does not make you a Champions League club, in my opinion.
"It just gives you an opportunity to be in there. To me, to be a Champions League club and to be at that level requires more than finishing fourth in one year.
"Do I believe right now we're a Champions League club? No we're not. That's my belief. We've still got work to do.
"That doesn't mean I don't want us to reach Champions League." - AFP