Mauricio Pochettino is targeting three points against Manchester City as the Spurs boss admits he is now aiming for a fifth place finish this season.

Tottenham Hotspur currently sit sixth in the Premier League, level on points with fifth-place Liverpool and seven points behind Manchester United in fourth.

With hopes fading of a top four place and Champions League football in 2015/16, head coach Pochettino says fifth place is now the club’s target.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of City’s visit to White Hart Lane on Sunday, he said: “It’s a good game, and a good opportunity for us to give our supporters at home a good performance, for us to play well and to get the victory. It’s a good opportunity to play well.

“Our target is to finish fifth. It’s important in the next four games to take as many points as possible. It’s always better if you finish fifth than seventh. Maybe that’s our real target now.”

Asked how playing in the Europa League this season affected his side, Pochettino explained: “I prefer to play for the Champions League but it’s true it is also good for the club to play in the Europa League. But my dream is to play in the Champions League, it’s the best competition.

“If it’s impossible to reach it, it’s welcome to play in the Europa League. The impact of the Europa League (on the team’s Premier League form) is real. This was my first season, we learned a lot. We need to use this experience for next season.

“It’s very important to be consistent in the Premier League and to try to get a good balance in the team. The team that wins the trophy always has consistency.

“If you analyse all the clubs, maybe our position is realistic, it’s the reality. You need to take the right decisions. If you pay the money, you’re not guaranteed the highest position. The key is to make the right decision. It’s not about the money. It’s about the right players to build a balanced squad.”

Danny Rose is back in contention to face Manuel Pellegrini’s side, but fellow defenders Kyle Walker and Ben Davies will remain on the sidelines through injury.

Pochettino said he wasn’t surprised that second place Manchester City, currently 13 points behind leaders Chelsea, had struggled to recapture their title-winning form from last season, but said this was down to the strength of other teams in the league.

He said: “It’s not easy in the Premier League, when you compete for the title and fight with sides like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and us. It’s never easy so it doesn’t surprise me.

“The Premier League is the toughest league in the world. Manchester City have great players but it’s not easy to compete against these other sides. It’s not easy to win the league. Consider La Liga in Spain, it’s only Barcelona and Real Madrid competing to win the trophy but here in England it’s very different.

“Manchester City is a club that realistically can fight to win the Premier League. Maybe in the future we will have the same results to fight for the league. This is my dream. We want to fight for that over the next few years and fight to win the Premier League. We have to improve our squad, our game. This is our target.”

Pochettino also refused to discuss speculation linking goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with a move away from White Hart Lane and a possible swoop for Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin.

“I don’t want to speak about rumours,” he said of the reports about a summer move for Lloris. “We are focused on finishing the season as best as possible. That’s a rumour, it’s impossible to stop but we need to accept that that’s the game.”