London, July 12 : New Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has said he plans to learn from the mistakes he made during his short spell at Chelsea to make the White Hart Lane club genuine title contenders.

Villas-Boas, who met the media as Spurs boss for the first time at the club's new 30 million pound training ground, insisted that he is a very different manager to the cocksure one that rocked up at Chelsea 12 months ago.

"Professionally, you learn different things from your day-to-day life in management. For me, I am always a person who defends certain principles that were never understood in England and, that requires much more adaptability from myself. I am a person who always puts the team in front, and I do it publicly," The Sun quoted Villas-Boas, as saying.

"I'm not a guy who is able to criticise anyone in public. I am also not a guy who promotes individuals in public, but I understand now that certain things can be done better. In the end you evolve in different ways. Hopefully, I can apply the different things I have learnt properly,' he added.

Previous Spurs boss Harry Redknapp claimed he had left a squad capable of winning the title, despite them finishing fourth last season.

However, Villas-Boas was only too happy to pick up the gauntlet laid down by his predecessor to raise Lilywhite spirits everywhere.

"It's a proposition, I put to the players on the first day we met. We have to see, of course, whether it's realistic or not. Other squads are evolving and you can't always compete with Chelsea and Manchester City for players," he said.

"We are trying to put together a squad that makes us compete for the title," he added. (ANI)