AVB eyes 70-point mark

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has set his side a target of 70 points in order to secure a top-four spot in this season’s Premier League.

Spurs sit fourth in the table, four points clear of Arsenal having played one game more, but a run of two consecutive league defeats has prompted fears of a repeat of last season’s collapse that costs them Champions League qualification.

However, the Portuguese manager is confident that his side remain on course to pick up enough points to guarantee themselves a place in Europe’s elite club competition next season.

“Normally it’s within the 70-72 margin,” Villas-Boas told reporters. “Normally 70 is enough for you to be in those four spots.

“There’s 24 points being played, for us to make 70 is 16 more points, so I think it’s enough but you never know what dictates. It’s very, very unpredictable. At this time I think we are within our objectives.”

Nevertheless, the former Chelsea boss recognises that a couple of poor results can change the complexion of a season and has urged his players to push toward a strong finish.

“Now it’s eight games until the season (is) finished,” he said. “I think most of the teams will have to put their act together. (For) us it’s exactly the same as the other ones.

“We’ve done excellently enough to manage to bridge the gap before, now with two league defeats we have our opponents a bit closer to us.

“We have to recognise the conditions have changed but towards the future we have these eight games and as it shifted so quickly for us, it shifts very, very quickly for any team in the Premier League when you don’t get the results.

“We have to put our act together for the rest of the fixtures to reach our objective.”