Modric predicts top 4 challenge for Spurs but what do Everton, Portsmouth and Villa have to say?

Football FanCast columnist Rob Facey assesses Tottenham’s chances of finishing in the top four this season after new boy Luka Modric has revealed this is what he expects of his team mates. Everton, Villa, Portsmouth and Man City may have something to say about that!

Luka Modric, the Croatian midfielder who joined Spurs at the tail end of last season, has already outlined his high hopes for his debut season in England.

After impressing at Euro 2008 and in pre-season, Modric believes that he can repay the £16.5m Ramos paid to bring the 22 year old to England by targeting a Champions League spot.

"I will justify the money Tottenham invested in me. The first target has to be to threaten the big four," Modric said, as reported in The Telegraph.

"We're capable of achieving some really good results."

Does Modric expect Spurs to realistically challenge for the top four, or is he just telling the fans what they want to hear?

Modric led Ramos’ summer signing spree which also saw Heurelho Gomes, David Bentley and Giovanni Dos Santos join the ranks at White Hart Lane, but is that enough to make the transition up?

Robinson and Keane, two Tottenham stalwarts over recent years have gone, and Berbatov still might leave before the window shuts. The mental state of the Bulgarian must be questionable after being teased by a move to Old Trafford all summer.

So do the signings compensate these losses?

And what about the rivals? Everton have brought in nobody this summer and David Moyes is becoming increasingly furious at the situation. It is unlikely that they will finish fifth again.

Aston Villa have been so disrupted by the Gareth Barry affair that they have only just started to sign players – Nicky Shorey means that they have actual real defenders rather then plucking a fan from the stands to plug the holes in O’Neill’s squad and Steve Sidwell will be chomping at the bit.

Whether Pompey will be able to maintain their level of success domestically and in Europe remains to be seen but they have bought well. Crouch and Defoe promises to be an exciting partnership this season.

Man City will be as inconsistent as ever, as will Newcastle and Blackburn.

As far as I can tell, the fight for fifth will consist of Spurs, Villa and Pompey. Threatening perhaps, but breaking into the top four this year maybe a little premature.

But then again, it is the week before the season starts, we’re all allowed to dream. Even Luka Modric.