Maresca says he has the backing of the owners to look at longer target of improvement and growth.
"What I can say is that nobody from the club asked me for the Champions League this year. Nobody said that we need to finish in the first four," Maresca said ahead of Sunday's season opener against Manchester City.
"What they said is that we need to arrive and compete, step by step."
On targets the board have set, Maresca replied: 'Just to have the feeling that we are going in the right direction. This is a very good target already when the owner, sporting directors, the manager and the players all have the same idea - that we are going in the same direction.
"If it is not now then probably it could be in one month, two months, in one year but we will be there very soon.
"My dream is to compete with the teams that dominate the top four. But we know to cross that gap is not automatic. We need to work every day together. We have to be together. Nobody has said that we need to be in the top four otherwise we have failed. Nobody.
"The reason we are looking for something for five years is because we want to be consistent in what we do."