LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated that he does not care about finishing above Arsenal but says he will be "very disappointed" if Tottenham do not win the title.
Spurs can confirm a first finish above their neighbours in 22 years with a win in Sunday's North London derby -- expected to be the last at White Hart Lane -- but Pochettino remains focussed on catching Chelsea.
Wednesday's hard-fought win at Crystal Palace reduced the gap to the league leaders to four points, but Chelsea play at Everton earlier on Sunday.
Asked if he understood supporters' desire to finish above Arsenal, Pochettino told a news conference: "I completely understand, but I'm so honest and my feeling is now that when you're so close to Chelsea -- the gap only four points with five games to play -- I'll be very disappointed if we don't win the title.
"I repeat: My challenge is not to be above Arsenal. My challenge is to be above 19 teams, and to be the first, on top. That is my challenge, my aim, my dream. I don't care what happens with Arsenal. With all my respect, I care about what happens with us. I try to win every game and be the best. That is our big, big challenge.
"I really don't think about Arsenal's position. Our focus is to win every game and win the Premier League and then we'll see, and have time to happy for different things that make our fans happy. We're professional, it's important for us to give our best, think for ourselves and try to achieve our aims, I don't see what happens next to us, with our opponents."
Pochettino was told about St. Totteringham's Day, an annual celebration for Arsenal fans of the day when Spurs cannot mathematically finish above their rivals in the table.
"For me, [abolishing St. Totteringham's Day] is not a motivation," he said. "The motivation is to win because it's a derby and I know what that means. But it's not a motivation to end that thing. My motivation is to win titles, my motivation is to improve my players every day, try to show we're better than our opponents.
"But I really don't care about that celebration you have explained to me."
Tottenham are expected to confirm on Friday that they will play all of next season's home matches at Wembley Stadium, while White Hart Lane is demolished and their new £800 million, 61,000-seater home is finished.
"Maybe it will be the last but we're playing from the beginning of the season like it's the last game at White Hart Lane -- the atmosphere, the players, the fans, everyone behaved with an amazing energy. You can feel that," Pochettino added.
"Be sure that Sunday is special for everyone and we will try altogether to win. Be sure also that we compete against a very good team in Arsenal they have fantastic players but altogether we can give our best and try to get the three points. That is our end."
Pochettino will again be without left-back Danny Rose, who is continuing to recover from a knee problem, while Mousa Dembele is rated 50/50 after being replaced at half-time at Palace with an ankle injury.
