Media playback is unsupported on your device Former Tottenham defender Ledley King says his old side can challenge for the title over the next couple of years.

Ledley King believes Tottenham have a good chance of winning the Premier League within the next two years.

The former Spurs defender, forced to retire through injury at the end of last season, is impressed with the quality of his former team-mates.

King, now a club ambassador at White Hart Lane, feels the club can go from strength to strength under manager Andre Villas-Boas.

"I rate the current Spurs team very highly," he told BBC School Reporters.

"I think we've got a young and ambitious manager who's great and is going to do well for the club.

"I think we've got a great group of players at a good age where they're improving all the time and reaching their peak.

"The way the team are progressing at the minute, hopefully in the next year or two they will be really challenging for the Premier League."

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Can Gareth Bale lead Spurs to title glory?

The first target for Tottenham is to qualify for the Champions League after suffering the agony of finishing fourth last year, only to be squeezed out when Chelsea won the final to take the remaining place in this season's competition.

King, who played in Europe's top club competition in 2010-11, when Spurs reached the quarter-finals under Harry Redknapp, told five pupils from Tottenham's Northumberland Park Community School: "Hopefully this season we will finish in the Champions League places and then keep doing that.

"It's a big club and you've got to make sure it's not just a one-off, you've got to keep doing it. Hopefully we can qualify this season and continue doing that for the future."

One thing Tottenham fans are guaranteed over the next few years is a new stadium to be built in the shadow of White Hart Lane, and King is excited about the project.

"We have to keep moving with the times," he said.

I'm lucky to still be working with the club I love Ledley King

"Ours is a great stadium and I'll be sad to see it go but we've got so many fans all over the world and it would be nice for more fans to come and watch the team play.

"The new stadium will be next door, here on White Hart Lane, which is important."

King announced his retirement on 19 July in 2012 having struggled with injuries for several years and was unable to train on a daily basis.

The centre-back, who made 264 league appearances for Spurs, won the Carling Cup in 2008 and represented England 21 times, insisted he had no regrets.

"My football career was one part of my life but I knew it was not going to last forever," he added.

"Footballers stop at quite a young age and I'm lucky enough to have a job now where I'm still working with the club I love."