Antonio Conte claimed Champions League qualification would be life-changing for Tottenham ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Conte also reiterated, however, that Tottenham face a difficult challenge to secure a place in Europe's premier competition, insisting another four clubs were also competing for fourth spot.
Spurs have won four consecutive league games to move into the Premier League's top four, the last two of those by four goals (a 5-1 win over Newcastle United and a 4-0 victory at Aston Villa). Another four-goal win would make Conte's team the first side to win three successive Premier League games by four goals since Manchester City in September 2017.
Tottenham will be confident of extending their excellent form against the Seagulls, who have lost on all four of their Premier League trips to Spurs. Only against Bournemouth (five wins from five) do Spurs have a better 100 per cent home record in the competition.
Ahead of Saturday's clash, Conte said watching this week's Champions League fixtures really brought home how important it is for his side to mix it with Europe's elite.
"The Champions League is a competition that every club, every player, every manager wants to play and for this reason it's important to have this great goal," Conte said.
"[It] changes your life if next season you are going to play in the Champions League, instead of playing UEFA [Europa] League, [Europa] Conference League, or nothing.
"The team is ready to fight until the end in this race. This race is not easy. It's very, very important to finish in the top four in England because it means that you have reached a great result for the club.
"Yesterday and two days ago we watched how important it is to play in the Champions League and how fascinating these games [are]. I'm sure that in my players there is a great desire to be protagonists in this competition.
"But we know very well that there are other teams that are really strong, Arsenal, [Manchester] United, West Ham, Wolverhampton, that they are in the same race with us, but we want to fight until the end, and we'll see what happens at the end of the season."
In-form Tottenham have scored at least twice in each of their last seven Premier League games – only once have they had a longer such run, doing so in 11 consecutive games between September and December 2011.
Conte conducted his media duties in person after his positive COVID-19 test had originally forced the club to plan a remote news conference, and was confident that having to distance from his players had not impacted Spurs' preparations.
"I had mild symptoms after the game against Aston Villa on Saturday," he added. "Mild pain in the throat, then I wanted to have a COVID-19 test, and I was positive.
"Now I'm well, and it's okay. I attended training sessions this week from a distance because I didn't want to take any risks with the players.
"My staff did a really good job, I trust in my staff, they are well prepared. The situation is under control. I'll be okay for Saturday, I'll be on the bench, in my place."
Conte was also asked about the condition of Matt Doherty, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained at Villa Park last Saturday.
The Italian called the absence of Doherty, whose six league goal involvements this season (two goals, four assists) can only be bettered by four Spurs players, "really bad news" but expressed his confidence in the other options in his squad.
"This is really bad news for us because, as you know well, Matthew was improving game by game and becoming a really important player for us," Conte added. "He had great confidence. But, in football, this kind of situation can happen.
"It's a pity, a pity for him, and we are very disappointed. Now, we have to find the best solution. We have Emerson [Royal], Sergio Reguilon, [Ryan] Sessegnon in the squad, and we have to try to do our best until the end of the season."
Postecoglou hails 'fantastic' youngster Moore after late Vissel Kobe winner
Ange Postecoglou saluted "fantastic" Mikey Moore, after the teenager struck a late winner in Tottenham's J-League World Challenge clash with Vissel Kobe.
The 16-year-old was the hero with his 88th-minute strike sealing a 3-2 victory at the Japan National Stadium in what was Spurs' first match in their preseason tour of the Far East.
Academy graduate Moore became Tottenham's youngest Premier League player when, aged 16 years and 277 days, he made his senior debut against Manchester City in the penultimate game of last season.
And Postecoglou insists the England youth international, who has scored 10 goals in 12 appearances at under-17 level, is deserving of his first-team opportunities.
"Mikey has been fantastic since we brought him in," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "He's earned his spot on the roster at the moment; he did at the end of last year.
"He got a run with the first team because we could see in training that he was handling himself really well, and that's followed through into pre-season training.
"He's been good in all the games; he probably should have had three tonight, but he did take his goal well by being in the right areas.
"All we can do is keep allowing him to develop. We have to remember that, last year, he had some injuries, and he is only 16.
"I think the future with a lot of our young guys looks pretty promising, but it's our responsibility to make sure they realise their potential and continue to work hard at their game."
Spurs made it three wins from three during preseason, following their 5-1 and 2-0 victories over Hearts and Queens Park Rangers respectively.
"I thought it was a good game," Postecoglou added. "The conditions did make it difficult for both teams, and we've had a hard week of training.
"Credit to the boys. I thought we played some decent football, and they put in as much effort as they humanly could out there.
"You want to provide some sort of entertainment for the supporters who made a great turnout tonight, not just Spurs supporters, but football supporters in general. It's always nice to give back in that way and, overall, I was pleased."
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Postecoglou urges Tottenham fans to be patient amid transfer 'misinformation'
Ange Postecoglou has urged Tottenham fans to have patience when it comes to bringing new players in during the transfer window.
Spurs have signed just two new faces so far, with Archie Gray joining from Leeds United in a deal reportedly worth up to £40million, and Lucas Bergvall signing from Djurgardens.
Alongside the two 18-year-olds, Timo Werner has also been resigned on loan for the upcoming season. He enjoyed an impressive start after initially joining in January, as he contributed two goals and three assists, but his season was ended prematurely by injury.
While the Spurs faithful are keen for their club to bring more reinforcements, Postecoglou asked for their trust as the club works towards adding to the squad.
"At this time of year, it's pretty hard for supporters because they don't have all the information, and it's fair to say there's plenty of misinformation out there," he said in a press conference.
"We're working hard to bring players in, and it's a process that you sometimes have to be patient with. But in terms of what we set out to do, that's still the plan, and you have to stay disciplined with that.
"Sometimes the timings don’t work out, and it doesn’t happen as quickly as you want, and you don't get them [players] in at the right time, but I think it's really important you stay disciplined and not run off and chase other things.
"So, what we started with at the start of summer is still there, and I wouldn't want to put timelines on it. A lot of that is out of our control, and we just need to be patient.
"From where I sit, at the moment, we're still in that phase where what we identified is still what we're after."
Spurs will face Japanese side Vissel Kobe in their next pre-season match on Saturday.
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