CHELSEA vs WEST HAM: Djordje Petrovic believes the Blues should be fighting for trophies - not Europa League and Conference League football - as they bid to finish Mauricio Pochettino's debut season strongly

Europa League qualification would represent success for Chelsea - for one season and one season only.

That's the view of defiant goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, who helped keep Tottenham at bay in Thursday night's memorable 2-0 triumph over Ange Postecoglou's men at Stamford Bridge.

When asked if reaching Europe would represent success, the ambitious 24-year-old Serb said: "I can say that. We played one final against Liverpool and we deserved to win that.

"We also played a semi final in the FA Cup. We have a lot of young players and players playing at this level for the first time. We are not happy with that. We want to play in the Champions League, we want to take trophies. That is in the history of this club. But I can say that it's a success if we play Europa League next year."

Petrovic added: "We have the chance to take 12 points more. If we do that - and it will be difficult - we will have a good chance to be in Europe next season, Europa League or Conference League. We don't want to give up. We want to finish the season in a good way."

West Ham visit Stamford Bridge today before Chelsea travel to relegation-battling Nottingham Forest next weekend. Mauricio Pochettino's side then face a midweek trip to Brighton before concluding their season at home to Andoni Iraola's high-flying Bournemouth.

Much like Pochettino - Petrovic is out to prove he deserves the chance to build upon his debut campaign in west London, despite facing criticism amid huge signs of promise.

Nicolas Jackson was on target in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Tottenham ( Image:

"It's my first season in the Premier League," Petrovic explained. "It's a top level, I'm learning every day and I will learn a lot from a game like this against Spurs. I really enjoy playing in this league for one of the biggest clubs in the world. This is a dream come true."

The former MLS star is adamant Chelsea have now set the benchmark with their gutsy display against arch-rivals Spurs. And when quizzed on the job Pochettino has carried out with an injury-ravaged squad, Petrovic was full of praise for the Argentine and his coaching staff.

He concluded: "I can speak about myself. Even before I started to play I spoke to the whole coaching staff a lot. They don't care who's playing or not, if they see your energy every day, if you are positive every day, you will get your chance for sure. That's very important for us because he believes in us.