Premier League: Tottenham end of season report

Tottenham's 2023/24 Premier League campaign came to a disappointing conclusion, but progress was still made under the leadership of Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs finished fifth on the ladder and many supporters would have taken that at the start of the season.

However, they missed out on Champions League football by two points and had they not faltered in the final few weeks, would be playing among Europe’s elite next season.

Even so, the future still looks bright for Spurs, and once again a place in the top four will be the target.

Ange proves his doubters wrong

There was plenty of scepticism when Aussie Postecoglou was handed the reins at Tottenham.

Even some of the Spurs faithful were questioning the appointment, suggesting the Australian may not be the man to take the club forward.

However, he soon won over the doubters with an exciting and refreshing brand of football that had the supporters on the edge of their seats.

It also resulted in an electric start to the season, with Spurs going undefeated in the opening 10 games.

There were victories over Manchester United and Liverpool and a 2-2 draw with arch-rivals Arsenal, meaning that they were being touted as potential candidates to win the title.

The honeymoon period would soon be over, however, as Tottenham failed to win in the next five games.

Postecoglou’s side would bounce back and remained in the hunt for the fourth and final Champions League place until the end of the season.

But a poor run of results in the final weeks, including four defeats on the bounce, would scupper their chances.

Aston Villa eventually claimed fourth spot and Tottenham were left to ponder what might have been.

The faltering end to the season saw the doubters re-emerge, but on the whole Postecoglou has done a fine job in his first season.

Spurs will look to strengthen

The dust is only just starting to settle on last season, but Postecoglou is already looking towards 2024/25 and how he can improve the squad.

Nothing will change regards the Australian’s footballing philosophy and style of play, but there will be some tinkering with his squad.

Postecoglou has already confirmed that he wants to bring new attacking players to the club and wants them on board as soon as possible.

The Lilywhites never really replaced Harry Kane, who left for Bayern Munich just as Postecoglou arrived, and it is a void that still needs filling.

Postecoglou will know which players he wants and will be hoping that the recruitment team can get them in as soon as possible.

Top four will be the target

On a number of occasions last season Postecoglou played down the hype surrounding his side finishing in the top four.

The Spurs boss preferred to focus on implementing his philosophy on the players and improving performances on the pitch week in, week out.

If that resulted in a place in the top four, then even better.

Postecoglou will want to see further development and progress, but no doubt the top four will be a target once again.

The competition will of course be fierce. Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United, who all finished below Tottenham, will also have their sights on the Champions League.

But the Londoners should be in the mix and can be backed at 3.00 to make the top four.

The Premier League title - Spurs rate as 34.00 chances - might be out of reach for now at least, but there is other silverware to target.

Spurs will be in the Europa League next season and it will be interesting to see how far they can go in the competition.

It will also be interesting to see how much importance Postecoglou places on an FA Cup run.

Tottenham have not won a trophy since 2008, when they lifted the League Cup, but they are capable of ending that drought in 2024/25.