Antonio Conte is unsure if he will still be Chelsea manager next season, saying his future is "a problem for the club" to make a decision on.
Chelsea sit five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham heading into Sunday's game against their London rivals, as Conte aims to fulfil their mission of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
Conte's side are out of this season's competition after losing to Barcelona in the last 16, leaving the FA Cup as the sole trophy left for them, with a semi-final against Southampton to come in April.
The Blues boss admits that he is still in the dark over what it would mean for his future at Stamford Bridge if the club miss out on the top four, but it is not the most pressing subject on his mind.
“I don’t know, I must be honest, I don’t know," Conte said. "This is not my problem. It’s a problem for the club. It’s not my problem.
"I think, as you know very well, it is more simple for the player to know if, in the future, he can stay here. [A coach's] job is totally different. We have a different job.
"For us, it is not sure. You can have a contract but you don’t know what will happen after one or two games. We depend a lot on the result. Last season we were very good to have another target, the possibility of winning the league after a 10th place finish.
"This season we are aiming for another target, to try to get a place in the Champions League, then to try and reach again the final of the FA Cup and win that trophy. The mentality must always be the same to get three points in every game. It will be important for us to try to get three points.
"We are having the season we deserve, last season we were very good to have this target but maybe it was a fantastic season for us. In this season, we deserve to play for another target but, for sure, everyone is trying to do our best to get the best target possible for us. I want to do this.”
Conte avoided discussing how absence from next season's Champions League might affect the club's summer transfer plans, but he believes that his current crop of players need experience in big games, like the one they face on Sunday.
“Zappacosta is a clear example for this type of situation," he added. 'We are talking about a young player, a player who is in the first season to play Champions League, and maybe international games.
"But I think in this team there are many good players, for example, Emerson Palmieri. He’s a young player who is a really good prospect but he needs to improve in many aspects. Andreas Christensen is another, Tiemoue Bakayoko, 23-years-old. We have a lot of young players who need experience and need to improve, not only on the pitch, but charisma and personality. You can do this only if you play important games."