The Argentinean hailed the effort of his players and his staff after Tottenham Hotspur secured a top-four finish on Wednesday night

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino concedes the next big step for his team is to win a trophy after they finished as London’s top side in the Premier League for the first time since 1995.

Spurs’ 1-0 win over Newcastle United last night not only guaranteed a top-four finish, it also ensured Chelsea can no longer catch the Lilywhites.

Pochettino highlighted the achievement after the game and admitted the club have to now push for silverware.

He said: “The first step is always to be competitive and to reduce the gap with the top four because that was the challenge four years ago.

“Now, after 23 years in the Premier League, this is the first time Tottenham are above all the London clubs and then the next thing is to win a trophy, but you need to build.

“We are not at a club that has won a lot in the last (few) years, so to create a winning mentality is to build step by step, reduce the level and then to be competitive and try to challenge the big sides.”

There is no doubt since Pochettino’s arrival in 2014, Spurs have reduced the gap at the top and gone ahead some of their rivals.

What has not helped this season is the fact they were without a ‘home’ as they had to play all their home games at Wembley Stadium.

It has added to the problems already faced by Pochettino and his staff over the past campaign, but he is proud of their effort and the work of his players.

He added: “It’s been a real quality season for the group. To achieve the top four, I think it is a massive, massive achievement.

“I want to congratulate the players first of all and then I want to congratulate all the staff that made it possible every day to work hard and help the team achieve all that we wanted.

“I say a massive congratulations and a massive thank you to all of the staff because they were fantastic and working so hard for nearly 38 games away from home in the Premier League.

“It’s good to say thank you to all of the staff because this achievement is for all the team, the players who score goals, or defend or save goals, but the staff were fantastic and I want to say thank you to them because this achievement is part of them.”