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Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris said qualifying for the Champions League next season "means more than a trophy" after Spurs beat Newcastle at Wembley to confirm their top-four place.
Harry Kane scored the game's only goal to take his side third with one game remaining, four points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea, who could only draw with Huddersfield.
Spurs will finish the campaign without silverware but the win means they qualify for the Champions League for a third successive season.
It also guarantees they will finish the season as London's top club for the first time since 1995, despite playing their home games at Wembley while their White Hart Lane home is redeveloped.
"We can be proud of our season," goalkeeper Lloris said.
"It has been tough. We felt we have played 37 games away from home. You can say whatever you want but Wembley is not our stadium.
"To finish above Arsenal and Chelsea means a lot. Maybe from the outside no-one expected us to be in the top four again this season. We showed character and we showed we are strong as a team.
"It means more than a trophy to be honest. We can be proud of our season."
Mauricio Pochettino's side disappointed for much of the game against Newcastle but Kane beautifully guided a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box in the 50th minute.
Newcastle had created the better openings in the first half with Jonjo Shelvey hitting the post from a free-kick and Jamaal Lascelles' header forcing a good save from Lloris.
The home fans had become increasingly frustrated before Kane's goal as Spurs continued the lacklustre form of recent weeks which had put their Champions League qualification in jeopardy.
Newcastle continued to impress after going behind and Jacob Murphy should have equalised but he smashed his shot from inside the area over the bar moments after coming off the bench.
Spurs had taken only four points from their previous four league games and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United last month.
That form meant that, even with Spurs' win, the race for the top four would have gone to the final day were it not for Chelsea surprisingly dropping points at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino's side missed half-chances and misplaced passes throughout and their only real moment of quality was Kane's goal.
The home fans' nervousness regarding their league position was clear with the groans in the first half and they also cheered loudly when the result at Stamford Bridge became clear.
"The pressure was for us and maybe it was not a great game," Pochettino said. "But to finish in the top four and maybe top three, we have to be realistic and be thankful to the players for their achievement.
"It is a massive achievement to qualify again.
"Next season it will be fantastic for Tottenham to be playing in a new stadium and in the Champions League."
Kane himself had been wasteful, skewing a left-footed volley wide early in the first half and completely missing his kick when trying to convert when through on goal with the ball dropping over his shoulder.
With the World Cup just over a month away, the England striker has looked below par in recent weeks but has still scored four goals in his past six league games.
Pochettino admitted Kane was not at his best but said he will be in "perfect condition" at the World Cup.
The Englishman's goal does mean Spurs still have an outside chance of finishing second this season, if Manchester United lose their two remaining games.
Newcastle have now lost four consecutive games since passing the 40-point mark by beating Arsenal in mid-April but this performance was not one of a team who were already thinking of the end of the season.
They defended well for the most part, with Spurs limited to just a handful of chances, and attacked with intensity.
Shelvey was unfortunate with his free-kick and Lascelles came close with his header while strikers Ayoze Perez and Dwight Gayle both had difficult chances in the first half.
Kane's clinical finish showed a top-class striker is the biggest difference between the two sides and will only add to Benitez's claims pre-match that the club need to break their transfer record to sign one in the summer.
Winger Murphy's opportunity was the clearest in the second half and manager Rafael Benitez said his side deserved more from their first visit to Wembley for 18 years.
"We put them under pressure," the Spaniard added.
"We were unlucky but it was a great performance. We wanted to do well. It has been a good season for us and we want to finish on a high.
"These games that we have lost we were not worse than the other teams. It has been the same throughout the season. The games are close. Today was another example."
