Ben Davies says Tottenham Hotspur's squad had "high expectations" from the start of the season but pinpointed the 4-1 win over Manchester City in September as the turning point.
Spurs lost 1-0 at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season before three consecutive draws left them struggling for points and confidence.
But 1-0 wins over Sunderland and Crystal Palace kickstarted Spurs' league campaign before they thrashed then-title favourites City on Sept. 26 -- a victory Davies believes was a "marker" for the season ahead.
"We were as disappointed to lose to Manchester United as we would be now," the Wales left-back told the club's official website. "We had high expectations from the start that we largely kept to as a group.
.@Ben_Davies33: "Everybody is 100% behind each other and that showed in our performances" - https://t.co/KwRPUVVer2 pic.twitter.com/TfQzyMn1I8
- Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 24, 2016
"We had our odd glitches in the season but the Manchester City game was a big point for us -- we set a marker down to show that we can do these things and get good results against big teams and that's something that we're always confident of within this squad so it was nice to be able to show it."
Despite missing out on second place and the chance to finish above rivals Arsenal for the first time since the 1994-95 season, Spurs finished third -- their highest ever Premier League finish -- and secured automatic qualification for the Champions League for the first time.
Additionally, they scored a club-record 69 goals in a Premier League season and finished the campaign with the joint-best defensive record along with Manchester United, with 35 goals conceded -- despite shipping five on the final day at Newcastle.
Christian Eriksen, meanwhile, believes the club laid the foundations for their positive campaign during manager Mauricio Pochettino's first season at the club.
"I don't really think it's just been the preseason," he said when asked what the catalyst was for the team's best displays in 2015-16.
"Last season [2014-15] was the first for all the new stuff we needed to learn so I think it mostly came from last season when we started picking up everything and being able to train at a high level every time.
HE SAID... @kevinwimmer27 on his first season at the Club, settling in and looking forward to the future. pic.twitter.com/NA3JwslatU
- Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 24, 2016
"It's all small stuff which started last season. Of course, it was a bit tougher in the beginning this year with all the running in preseason and so on, but as the season goes on and we play more football, we play how we want to play and I think with the players we have, the style of play suits us really well.
"It's great to play in and everyone enjoys how we work. I guess it started last season but we're through to the next level this year and hopefully next season we'll be even better."
Austrian defender Kevin Wimmer has described his debut season in the Premier League as "unbelievable" and believes Spurs will only get better next term.
The 23-year-old joined from Cologne last summer and made 20 appearances in all competitions, including nine consecutive league starts from February to March while Jan Vertonghen was sidelined.
"It's true, when you think now that we nearly won the title, for me personally in my first year in England, it's unbelievable," Wimmer said.
"I knew Tottenham Hotspur as a club that fights for the top four -- this was also our target this season and we did well. Then we also had the chance to win the title -- in the end we were very close but I think we'll just get stronger out of this and hopefully next season we can do a little bit better."