Mauricio Pochettino says winning the Premier League title should be the ‘first step’ for Tottenham as they look to establish themselves as a dominant force in English football.

Spurs recorded their highest top-flight finish of the Premier League era last term as they finished third behind Leicester City and Arsenal, having challenged for the title up until the final weeks of the campaign.

Only a disastrous 5-1 defeat on the final day against an already relegated Newcastle side saw Pochettino’s team finish outside the top two. It saw them miss the opportunity to finish above their north London rivals for the first time in 21 years.

But Pochettino for one is aiming much higher than that.

"It is our dream to win the Premier League,” he told Sky Sports. “It is our premier competition. For us, it is our first step.”

"We need to work hard because teams like Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, they have all improved. It is true that the Premier League is tougher than last season because all the big teams are improving their squads but we are confident in ours."

"We finished third in the league last season. It was a tough summer because the way that we finished the season was bad. We showed some weakness at the end of the season that we need to try and work out which is always important.”

Spurs currently occupy fifth place in the table – ten points behind leaders Chelsea.

They do, however, have more points on the board that at this stage last season despite winning just two of their eight away matches so far.

White Hart Lane, in what is set to be their final season at the ground, remains a fortress. Spurs boast the best home record of any side with seven wins and two draws from nine matches.

Tottenham's festive fixture list 4 show all Tottenham's festive fixture list 1/4 Tottenham 2 Burnley 1 (H) Sunday 18 December, kick-off 4pm GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images 2/4 vs Southampton (a) Wednesday 28 December, kick-off 7:45pm Getty Images 3/4 vs Watford (a) Sunday 1 January, kick-off 1:30pm Getty Images 4/4 vs Chelsea (h) Wednesday 4 January, kick-off 8pm Getty Images 1/4 Tottenham 2 Burnley 1 (H) Sunday 18 December, kick-off 4pm GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images 2/4 vs Southampton (a) Wednesday 28 December, kick-off 7:45pm Getty Images 3/4 vs Watford (a) Sunday 1 January, kick-off 1:30pm Getty Images 4/4 vs Chelsea (h) Wednesday 4 January, kick-off 8pm Getty Images

And Pochettino hopes that their new ground, due to be completed in time for the 2018/19 season, will help take Spurs to a new level.

"I think for us, our first challenge is to finish the new stadium,” he continued. “We have brilliant facilities on the training ground and I think the new stadium can help a lot for us to fight for the titles.

"We have to wait now and it's all about time. It's difficult to ask for time in football but I think we are in a good process. A good challenge is to arrive at the new stadium and at that moment, be in the position to fight for titles."

Tottenham's next match sees them take on Pochettino's former side, Southampton, on December 28. You can follow the match live with Standard Sport. Click here to find out how.