Southampton striker Rickie Lambert says the south coast club is targeting eventual top-four status.
The Saints find themselves sitting ninth on the Premier League table but are still 18 points off forcing themselves into the top echelon of English clubs.
Despite seeing their European goal drop off in recent weeks, Lambert is maintaining the premise that Southampton will eventually become one of the better sides in the competition.
"We aimed for fourth this season and people laughed at us - but they didn't laugh at us straight away, when we were second, they waited until we dropped off a bit," the striker told the club's official website.
"Our desire is to get into the top four and that's the way the club has been run in the past four years.
"That's the vision the players have and it's the one that the club has so, for me, it's what the players still want going forward and it's what we're expecting, to be honest."
