The decision was taken after talks between the police and the Premier League on Thursday. Following the riots that have engulfed the capital during the week and damage to the area around Tottenham High Road, the police felt they could not guarantee the safety of supporters heading to White Hart Lane. The Premier League remains confident though that the other games, including those in London, will still go ahead. Speaking at the official launch of the new Premier League season, Dawson admits it is frustrating for the game to be called off but has fully backed the decision. "It is frustrating as we worked for six weeks trying to get fit and unfortunately the first day of the season isn't going to be happening for us," said the 27-year-old. "But the most important thing is the safety of all the people involved, the police won't have called it off too lightly." Chelsea defender John Terry, who was also present at the launch, echoed the sentiments of Dawson. "A lot of kids will have been at the game and the safety of the public is the most important thing so It was the right thing to do." Meanwhile, Dawson insists Spurs are good enough to make the top four this season despite the club's lack of activity in the transfer market so far this summer. Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have all spent upwards of £40million this summer and Arsenal and Chelsea look set to embark on similar spending sprees over the next two weeks. Deals for Lassana Diarra, Chris Samba, Fernando Llorente and Giuseppe Rossi have been mooted, but so far the only arrivals at White Hart Lane have been free transfer Brad Friedel and young duo Souleymane Coulibaly and Cristian Ceballos. That has led many to suggest that the club will not be able to achieve the top-four place that eluded them last term, but Dawson disagrees. The Spurs skipper is sure that a couple of new arrivals are just around the corner and insists that the club already has the squad capable of qualifying for the Champions League anyway. "If you look around the dressing room, we've got a fantastic squad," Dawson said. "The chairman and the manager are trying to improve it all the time, especially after missing out last year. "You have to improve and go one better. I'm sure they will be trying to do something. "We're aiming to break in to the top four again. There are lots of teams who want to be in the top four. "It will be a good test for us, but hopefully we will be able to do it this year." Spurs were denied a second successive appearance in the Champions League after a dip in form towards the end of last year meant they could only finish fifth. Having faced the likes of AC Milan, Inter Milan and Real Madrid last season, Dawson is determined to make sure the club are playing among Europe's elite again as soon as possible. "We had some great nights (last season) and went to some great places and it's where we want to play football," he added. Key to Tottenham's push for a top-four place will be the future of playmaker Luka Modric. Modric has been at the centre of a long-running transfer saga this summer that has seen Chelsea lodge two unsuccessful bids for the player. The Blues are expected to return with a third offer of over £30million before the transfer window closes but Dawson hopes Modric will stay. "I certainly hope he will stay," Dawson said on Thursday afternoon at the official Barclays Premier League launch in central London. "He is a top player. The chairman said he was not going to sell him and hopefully we can keep him."
