As many teams would love the joy of breaking into the top four, Tottenham Hotspur are in an ideal position to get back in the Champions League.
Indeed they can do that via the Europa League this season by going all the way. However, there is a real sense of achievement when your club surprises most people and their hard work is rewarded. Aswell as the top facilities, new manager and attempting to resurrect the careers of the likes of Erik Lamela, Nacer Chadli and Vlad Chiriches, Spurs are currently going through a transitional period.
When clubs go through the transition of significant changes in order for improvement, it sometimes takes a year or two for it to come into fruition, with Manchester united being a prime example. But Tottenham have the quality to prove any transition is good right from the off.
Last season, under the guidance of both Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood, they finished in a respectable 6th position. There attacking outlet has been a problem for the past two years, and strikers such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane have found it more difficult than they imagined to find the net. That said, that was no excuse for them to try their luck, having an average of 18.3 shots per game, higher than any other Premier League team in the 2013/2014 season.
Now with former Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino at the helm, significant changes have been made by the Argentine. He is slowly showing why Erik Lamela cost £30m from Italian giants Roma last season. Quick, skilful and has an eye for a pass. Lamela showed his quality for his country in a recent friendly win against World Cup winners Germany, in which Lamela played an integral part in and scored one of the goals in a 4-2 scalp.
Aswell as Lamela, Belgian winger Nacer Chadli has also made a promising start after being judged a disappointment last season. The former FC Twente midfielder has scored three goals in three Premier League games this season, already improving on last season one goal in 24.
Unlike Villas-Boas and Sherwood, Pochettino has implemented some tactical changes in order for his side to be more of threat to the opposition. High energy and a high pressing style is what he has brang from the South Cast to North London. Aswell as improving on the average tackles per game (19.8 to 22.5) and interceptions per game (14.7 to 15.8) Spurs are second in terms of passing accuracy this season (86.1%) and only Chelsea and North London rivals Arsenal have won possession in the final third more times than Spurs.
So will Tottenham Hotspur be a dangerous threat this season? Despite the ongoing problems of the new stadium and potentially having to play their home games elsewhere for the 2016/2017 season, everything is in place for Spurs to break into the top four.
The manager has stuck by his philosophy of playing attractive football and pressing the opposition, and is getting the best out of players that were dubbed failures only last season. If anyone can bring Champions League football back to White Hart Lane, then at the moment, its Pochettino.
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