Top four and a return to the Champions League was Tottenham Hotspur's goal at the start of the 2014-15 Premier League season, but Mauricio Pochettino has fallen short in his first season in charge of the London outfit.

Pochettino was appointed head coach of Spurs at the end of last season, but it has been a mixed campaign for the club. A League Cup final appearance did arrive, but there was disappointment in both Europe and the league.

That said, fifth position was secured on the final weekend of the season and on paper, many Spurs supporters would have taken that at the start of the season.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at how Spurs performed during the course of what was a busy campaign.

August

Tottenham needed a late winner to overcome West Ham United in their Premier League opener on August 16, with new signing Eric Dier proving the hero at Upton Park.

After finishing sixth in the league last season, Spurs were handed a place in the Europa League playoffs, and overcame AEL 2-1 in the first leg to take control of the tie.

A third straight win in all competitions and second in the league followed on August 24, with Nacer Chadli scoring twice in a 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers.

The North London outfit then booked their spot in the group stages of the Europa League with a 3-0 home win over AEL, but the month ended in disappointment as Liverpool won 3-0 at White Hart Lane in the league.

Overall, however, four wins from five games made it a successful August for the capital outfit, who also brought in the likes of Ben Davies, Michel Vorm, Federico Fazio and Benjamin Stambouli during the summer window.

September

Following the international break, Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw at Sunderland, before they opened their Europa League Group C campaign with a goalless draw away to Partizan Belgrade.

Spurs returned to domestic action on September 21, but it became four games without a win when they were beaten at home by West Bromwich Albion.

A much-needed victory arrived on September 24, however, when Spurs opened their League Cup challenge with a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest.

What was an extremely busy month across three separate competitions concluded with a trip to Arsenal in the league. Chadli handed Spurs a second-half lead at the Emirates, but the points were ultimately shared in a 1-1 draw.

October

Besiktas were the visitors to White Hart Lane in the Europa League on October 2 and the Turkish side returned home with a 1-1 draw.

Spurs finally returned to winning ways in the league against Southampton, with Christian Eriksen scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win. That was just Pochettino's third league win as Spurs boss and his first in five matches.

Spurs were brought crashing down to earth against Manchester City after the international break. The London side had Fazio sent off and gave away three penalties in the 4-1 defeat at the Etihad.

They returned to winning ways in the Europa League with a 5-1 victory over Asteras Tripolis, but then suffered a 2-1 loss at home to Newcastle United as their league form, especially at home, continued to stutter.

Harry Kane was making a strong case to start in the league following his excellent European form, but Pochettino still kept faith with his misfiring forwards.

A spot in the next round of the League Cup was secured at the end of the month, however, as they recorded a comfortable 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

November

November started with back-to-back 2-1 wins – firstly overcoming Aston Villa at Villa Park in the league, before beating Asteras Tripolis for the second time in the Europa League.

Their next match also finished 2-1, but this time Spurs were on the wrong end of the scoreline as they lost at home to Stoke City.

Home form had been their Achilles heel in the opening weeks of the season and the supporters were starting to show their frustration at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham's away form remained strong, however, and they won 2-1 at Hull City on November 23 to make it four wins from their last five matches.

Two more victories arrived before the end of the month, with a 1-0 win over Partizan in the Europa League followed by a 2-1 success at home to Everton in the league.

November also proved the month that Kane finally settled in the Spurs team, with Pochettino running out of patience with Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor. In addition, the victory over Partizan had booked their spot in the last-32 stage of the Europa League.

December

Tottenham travelled to Chelsea at the start of December boasting three straight wins in all competitions, but they were soundly beaten 3-0 by the leaders.

Next came a frustrating goalless draw at home to Crystal Palace, before they lost at Besiktas to relinquish first position in their Europa League group. As a result, the London side were drawn against Italian outfit Fiorentina in the next round.

Spurs were making a habit of scoring late goals, however, and that was again the case in a 2-1 win away to Swansea City on December 14.

Burnley were the visitors to White Hart Lane one week later, and it was another three points for Spurs, who edged out the newly-promoted side 2-1 to make it four wins from their last six in the league.

Boxing Day took Spurs to struggling Leicester City and the positive run continued as Eriksen scored a second-half winner at the King Power stadium. Manchester United then visited White Hart Lane, but despite a number of chances, could not break the deadlock as the two sides played out a goalless draw.

January

The month of January started in sensational fashion as Spurs recorded a 5-3 win over league leaders Chelsea, with Kane netting twice at White Hart Lane. The inconsistency that has plagued the team in recent seasons was still all too apparent, however, and they then lost 2-1 at Crystal Palace in their next league game.

Sandwiched between their opening two league games of 2015 was a 1-1 draw with Burnley in the third round of the FA Cup. The replay took place on January 14 and Spurs booked their spot in the next round with a 4-2 victory at White Hart Lane.

Eriksen was making a habit of scoring late goals, meanwhile, and the Dane again netted in a 2-1 victory over Sunderland in the league on April 17.

Spurs were also in the semi-finals of the League Cup and booked their spot in the final towards the end of the month with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Sheffield United, who provided a stern test in both matches.

Their FA Cup run came to an end on January 24, however, when Leicester City won 2-1 at White Hart Lane.

January ended with an impressive 3-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion in the league, with Kane again scoring twice for the capital outfit.

February

A busy January was followed by a busy February, with the return of the Europa League on the horizon. Spurs opened the month with a 2-1 victory over North London rivals Arsenal in the league, with that result moving Pochettino's side into the top four and above Arsenal in the process.

Spurs then faced a trip to Liverpool in the league three days later and an incident-filled match ended in a 3-2 home victory. Next up was the first leg of their last-32 clash with Fiorentina in the Europa League, and the match at White Hart Lane finished 1-1.

Sandwiched between their two-legged affair with Fiorentina was a league game against West Ham United, which finished 2-2 courtesy of a late equaliser from Kane, who had quickly become the team's standout player.

Spurs' Europa League journey for the season came to an end on February 26 when they were beaten 2-0 at Fiorentina in the second leg of their last-32 clash, which made it a disappointing end to the month.

March

The big games kept on coming for Spurs as they faced Chelsea in the League Cup final on March 1. In truth, Chelsea proved too strong on the afternoon and claimed the trophy with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Wembley.

Spurs did return to winning ways in the league against Swansea City, however, before Kane again scored twice in a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers on March 7 to leave the club right in the race for the top four.

Pochettino's team were brought crashing back down to earth in their next game, however, as they lost 3-0 at Manchester United. The month did end with a victory, however, with an incredible 4-3 success over Leicester City leaving Spurs seventh in the table.

April

In truth, just one win from four league games in April ended Spurs' challenge to finish in the top four. They opened the month with a 0-0 draw away to Burnley, before losing 1-0 at home to Aston Villa, with Tim Sherwood returning to his former club to claim all the points.

Spurs did return to winning ways with a 3-1 victory at out-of-form Newcastle United on April 19, but they could not follow it up with another win as they were held at Southampton on April 25.

As it stood, the race for fifth position and a return to the Europa League was up for grabs, but it was looking increasingly unlikely that the club would be able to return to the top four, which had been the aim at the start of the season.

May

Results in May did not get much better, with Manchester City recording a 1-0 win at White Hart Lane at the start of the month, before Stoke City beat the London club 3-0 at the Britannia to make it just one win in their last six league matches.

Hull City travelled to Spurs on May 16 needing all three points in their battle against the drop, but goals from Chadli, who has chipped in this season, and Danny Rose secured all the points in a 2-0 win.

Spurs did secure fifth place on the final weekend of the season, however, with a 1-0 win at Everton ensuring that they finished above Liverpool and Southampton just outside the Champions League positions.