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In a fairly wide-ranging first press conference as Tottenham manager, Andre Villas-Boas rejected the opportunity to play down expectations, instead agreeing with former boss Harry Redknapp that the foundations are in place to challenge for the title.

It was also encouragingly noticeable that, in contrast to his arrival at Chelsea in which he swiftly made it clear that he was keen to overhaul the side that he inherited, the Portuguese tactician spoke about building on the work of his predecessor.

He said: "We have to try to put Tottenham on the road for titles...Last year the squad started extremely well. The belief was there and the margin was there for Tottenham to win the title.

"If we are able to take the squad to the levels of ambition we want, it is something we can think of. We just have to continue with the quality work that Harry left us."

Joining the elite group of Premier League winners which currently features just Manchester United, Blackburn, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City is likely to take more than a season, as illustrated by odds of 38.0, especially if Luka Modric leaves.

Without outright confirming that the in-demand Croatian playmaker will be off, Villas-Boas admitted that it is a strong possibility, in addition to revealing that rumours of interest in Porto midfielder Joao Moutinho have substance.

He said: "The interest that we have from various different clubs shows the importance of the player and what he's done for Tottenham...Ongoing discussions will continue with these clubs until we reach an agreement which is acceptable for each party."

One member of last season's squad that the incoming boss is determined to retain is loan star Emmanuel Adebayor, with the 34-year-old stating that "it will be a lie if I say we are not looking for a striker and Ade is part of that list".

Andy Carroll isn't though, the highlight of the briefing besides his rather bold attempt to claim credit for performing the groundwork for Chelsea's Champions League success being his blunt dismissal of that speculation.

He said: "I'm not sure of Liverpool's intentions on Andy Carroll but it's certainly not a player we are looking for." Spurs, who also announced that Steffan Freund will be their new assistant head coach, are 2.86 to finish in the top four in AVB's first campaign.

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