Premier League: The Challenges Villas-Boas Faces in Taking Spurs to Next Level

Contemplating how Andre Villas-Boas can take Tottenham Hotspur to the next level is, in some respects, a matter of perception.

Would qualifying for the Champions League constitute the next level? Winning a trophy? Mounting a genuine challenge for the Premier League title? Or some combination of the three?

Bill Nicholson's legendary double-winning team of 1960-61 were unable to win another title. Yet they reached the semifinals of the European Cup a year later and won a second consecutive FA Cup too.

The latter led to the Lilywhites becoming the first English club to win a European trophy—beating Atletico Madrid 5-1 to take the 1962-63 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Nicholson's side did not return to the very top of the English pyramid, but their excursions in Europe represented progress of a different kind.

An offseason of change in the English top-flight makes establishing a set of targets for the current Tottenham side—and the credentials needed to achieve them—prone to so many different factors.

Forgetting for a moment the work at hand in their own house, Spurs' potential rivals for the season will again be difficult obstacles to negotiate past.

Even with the coaching upheaval at Chelsea, Everton and both Manchester clubs, they all remain sides full of quality, as do fellow top seven finishers Arsenal and Liverpool.

As Villas-Boas will in N17, each manager will be striving to improve in 2013-14. At least one or two are likely to succeed.

The Portuguese has set his stall out somewhat with relatively harmless, but not unheard comments, here via SkySports.com, about a couple of his peers.

Describing his former boss Jose Mourinho, now back at Chelsea, as someone you are unable to "take your eyes away from" was hardly inflammatory. Given how Villas-Boas also pondered the ability of Manchester United under David Moyes to retain the "fear that came from playing Alex Ferguson's sides", one does wonder if the 35-year-old is getting in on the mind games early.

These comments may have been meaningful, or completely innocent. Regardless, Villas-Boas being able to stand his ground in any war of words down the line, could be valuable in setting the tone for his team.

The trick is knowing when to show strength and when to keep quiet. Following Spurs' North London derby win in March, Villas-Boas describing Arsenal, to BBC Sport, as being "in a negative spiral in terms of results" given the advantage his team had just established.

It is hard to fault him giving his honest view to a question. Yet, seeing how they came back to pip Spurs to fourth, dismissing the Gunners as a nonentity may have proved a more damning and effective tactic.

As preseason unfolds, it will be interesting to see the nature of Tottenham's targets emerge for the campaign ahead.

Champions League qualification is a must, especially after they came so close the last two seasons. Depending on the success (at least in their own minds) of their maneuverings in the transfer market, their ambition may well extend beyond that.

Villas-Boas demonstrated his hunger for success with the seriousness with which he pursued the Europa League last season. Alongside chasing fourth place, it proved too much for his squad—but his zeal in wanting more was admirable nonetheless.

It gave the impression of a manager who will not merely be satisfied by the modern "trophy" that is reaching the cash-laden Champions League. That is not underestimating that competition's importance to him, just stating Villas-Boas' craving for a more tangible measure of progress, too.

Given what he experienced working under Mourinho and his own triumphs at Porto, this is not surprising.

Instilling that desire among his players will be vital for Spurs to harbor any notion of a title push. Heck, it will be for them to just win a cup and secure entry to Europe's top-tier tournament.

There is still the talent among the ranks that at least makes them contenders—albeit at longer odds—for all of that.

As already noted, adding depth to survive the demands of such lofty goals, as well as similar quality to the likes of Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen and Gareth Bale will be important. Villas-Boas knows his fellow managers will not be resting on the laurels of what either they, or their predecessors, achieved.

Still being established last summer was a familiarity between players and the newly appointed coaching staff. Its presence now gives Tottenham a foundation that will avoid the teething problems suffered during the early stages of 2012-13—even with new faces to integrate.

As it will be Villas-Boas' first time working into a second year at a club, we stand to learn something about his ability to get across his ideas after their initial impact.

If he can build on the early promise he has shown, we may be looking at a manager capable of overcoming a wide range of challenges, taking Spurs to levels they have not frequented for over a couple of decades.