Michael Dawson confident Tottenham Hotspur can finish in the Premier League's top four again

Posted Sunday, August 07, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Tottenham Hotspur defender and captain Michael Dawson has said that the club can still qualify for the Champions League, despite the massive spending that has been undertaken by its rivals.

Chelsea, the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal all have enormous funds available to them, but Dawson still believes that Tottenham can regain its Champions League berth.

"We're aiming to be in the top four, we've been in it, and the lads are hungry to be in it again," he told The Independent. "Of course you're disappointed not to be in the Champions' League. It's where you want to be playing, and you speak to the fans – we travelled with thousands everywhere we went and they loved it as much as the players.

“You want to be playing against the best players but you've got to earn the right to be back there. We played the two games against Young Boys to get into the group stage, and two weeks later I got injured and I was out for two months, which ended up being three. The lads were fantastic, and we were still in the competition by the time I was fit again."

Dawson is adamant that Tottenham can beat its rivals, despite not having as much spending power, and implies that it was its failure to beat the so-called lesser teams that forced them to settle for the Europa League.

He added: "In the first game of the season [a goalless draw with Manchester City at White Hart Lane], Joe Hart – what a performance. He got them a point. We were 2-0 down to Arsenal and came back to win 3-2. We had a little dip towards the end of the season, but we showed character by winning at Liverpool 2-0, where we haven't won for a long time, and finishing fifth."

He stressed how far the club has come in these last few years and is hopeful that the progression is not yet complete.

“We're going to these places where maybe five or six years ago we weren't getting wins, so we're moving forward. We know it's going to be tough, but we've got top players and we'll be giving it our all this year."