Andre Villas-Boas knows he has a "massive opportunity" at Tottenham Hotspur but denied he was on a mission to restore his reputation after being sacked as Chelsea manager in March.

Speaking to reporters for the first time at the plush new Spurs training complex in north London on Wednesday, the Portuguese came out fighting as he settled into his job, saying he was ready to build on sacked manager Harry Redknapp's legacy.

He bristled at suggestions that his short tenure at Stamford Bridge had been a failure.

"I cannot assume that failure on my own, I have to disagree with you," the 34-year-old former Porto coach told reporters.

"First you have to recall that a squad was being put in place that was the future, and the owner, who took the decision he took, which I have to respect but I would never accept it, decided to terminate the contract.

"So it's never a one-person failure, I could never take it like that, there were mistakes that I have made which I have learned but the decision to terminate the project is not mine, it is a decision from the owner of Chelsea Football Club."

Redknapp's sacking by Tottenham was a surprise after leading them to fourth place in the Premier League and only missing a Champions League berth because Chelsea took the last qualifying place as European champions.

The decision to replace Redknapp with Villas-Boas also raised concerns among fans, some of whom regarded it as a backward step.

"It's not a mission of restoring my reputation, it's a mission to put Tottenham back on track with titles," he said.

"I think the dimension of the club speaks for itself.

MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY

"It was a massive, massive opportunity for me and I'm extremely privileged to have been given that opportunity, so it's fantastic to come to a club which such high ambitions towards the future," he added.

Villas-Boas earned a reputation for attractive football when he led Porto to silverware, including the Europa League, and despite struggling at Chelsea he said he was ready to continue the Tottenham style laid down by Redknapp.

"To lose what Harry left us is a mistake so you just have to try to build on from that, to put Tottenham on the road for titles," said Villas-Boas, who has appointed former Spurs and Germany midfielder Steffen Freund as his assistant coach.

"I think last year was the first year that we saw so openly Tottenham publicly speak about the title and I think it's where we want to go."

The chances of playmaker Luka Modric being part of Villas-Boas's new project, however, look slender.

The Croatian has again been linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs like Real Madrid after Tottenham resisted Chelsea's attempts to buy him last season.

"Luka's commitment was never in doubt whilst he was at Spurs, he was a player that always attracted interest while he was here because of the quality that he has," he said.

"I think it's now up to the chairman to decide what is in the best interests of the football club."

- Reuters