Villas-Boas: Tottenham not ready for title challenge

The Spurs manager is satisfied with the squad at his disposal but plays down his side's chances of a push for Premier League glory despite several big-name signings

 Andre Villas-Boas is pleased with Tottenham's dealings on the transfer market this summer but feels that it is too early for his side to be contenders for the Premier League title.

Spurs splashed out over €120 million on new signings this summer, netting the likes of Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado and Paulinho, while sending Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in a world-record €100m deal.

The Portuguese believes, however, that it will take time for the new-look squad to gel together.

"The circumstances are difficult," Villas-Boas told Sky Sports News. "The investment that we have made raises expectations in people but what we have to do is create a team that bonds together.

"That takes time and we see that our opponents are one step ahead as they have players who have been together for many years - that is an advantage that we don't have.

"I think we have invested a lot in young players that have real potential. Obviously we will have to work with them to make sure they develop into the world stars that we think they can become.

"All of them have great ambition to succeed and win titles which is one of the criteria that we wanted. Now it is about creating a team that bonds together and assumes the responsibility of winning those titles. This is what we have now and hopefully we can get a good response."

Tottenham suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to arch-rivals Arsenal before the international break but Villas-Boas is focused on getting back on track against Norwich City..

"I'm happy with the start we have made but losing to Arsenal is never easy for any Spurs fan so now we have to make sure we bounce back," he continued.

"Whatever result we had against Arsenal, that would not affect how we approach our next game against Norwich. We have to concentrate on winning that one.

"[It's been a] good international break for us. We have not had any injuries so we are looking forward to getting back into action."