Sunday was a day of celebration as Tottenham beat arch-rivals Arsenal to secure a ninth successive Premier League victory.

In the process, Mauricio Pochettino’s side ensured they will finish above the Gunners for the first time in 22 years and almost secured second place.

Their return to the Champions League has been a formality for a few weeks, and the title race is not over yet. Spurs could be just one point off the top after their derby at West Ham on Friday.

Yet for every silver lining there is a cloud and Kyle Walker’s latest omission from the starting line-up has sparked speculation about his future.

Reports that the England man is discontent and eyeing a move to Manchester City have dominated the agenda in recent days and taken some of the shine off Spurs’ triumph over their greatest foes.

Pochettino certainly seemed irritated when at his Thursday press conference – the day before the next episode of Spurs’ enterprising title bid – he was faced with persistent questions about the possibility of one of his players jumping ship.

“There’s still two weeks and four games to go but there’s many, many rumours,” he said. “It’s true Tottenham is a trending topic in all the rumours. We are champions. In the last two seasons I think we’re more than first.”

Unfortunately for Spurs, they are not at the top of the table financially, and Pochettino’s reticence on the Walker issue only prompts further speculation.

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He said he “cannot confirm” whether his player is happy at White Hart Lane, although he later stated “I think it’s a good relationship [with Kyle], like all”.

Either way, the subject is symptomatic of the problem that has plagued Tottenham for years: success just attracts suitors; richer clubs who can offer their most talented players more money.

Spurs fans are rightly revelling in a stunning campaign but will probably be dreading the transfer window, and this week’s speculation has provided a depressing reminder that outperforming wealthier clubs in the Premier League table does little to inhibit their spending power.

This is precisely why it is so important that Tottenham’s rapid progress on the pitch is combined with improvements off the field, and why their new 61,000-seater stadium – which will enable them to offer more competitive wages – is so necessary.

“We want to move the club to the last level,” said Pochettino. “If we are capable of moving the club in the next few years to the last level you will see maybe the rumours will stop, because when you compare Tottenham – I don’t know, I want to be very respectful – to Manchester United or this type of club, you do not see the same rumours as here.

“Why? I think you know and we know. But that is the situation. The real situation is we and the chairman are working so hard.

“There is a lot of pride, because he (Daniel Levy) is the first who is creating a massive club for us and the fans, because he is thinking in the next few years to move the club into the last level.

“In our signings on the sport side we are creating a team that can, in the moment we get to the new stadium and finish all the facilities, be one of the best teams in the world.

“That is why the rumours do not frustrate me. Only I [find them] so funny when I read, listen, see or watch like this.”

Levy has often been a divisive figure among Tottenham’s supporters, but Pochettino feels his boss is doing an outstanding job and deserves much of the praise for the club’s ongoing success.

“We have to congratulate all, first the chairman,” he said. “Daniel Levy deserves a lot of credit in these three years, because his support is massive to me.

“It’s a good thing to recognise when people help you, when the chairman cares about you, shares ideas and tries to be involved every day.

“The good thing at Tottenham is that all decisions are club decisions – not Mauricio Pochettino’s decision or Daniel Levy’s decision. We share all decisions and that’s so important to success in football.

“That’s why I want to recognise all his support. He is a person who is 24 hours caring for the club, the fans, trying to improve the team, the facilities, creating a new stadium. All he is doing is for us, the staff, players and fans.

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“Sometimes it’s so difficult. Score a goal and the striker is praised. If the team is doing well the manager is praised. But if you have a great chairman like we have, it’s important to recognise it.”

Cynics may suggest Pochettino has a vested interest in giving his chairman some positive PR and a share of the glory. But the Argentinian insisted: “He deserves the praise. It’s not a gift.

“The perception [of him] is real. He’s so tough, he’s hard. He’s a chairman and it’s not easy to manage this size of club. If you are a soft person, it would be so difficult to manage, so difficult to succeed.

“He’s so shy and he doesn’t like too much to appear in the media. He’s been at Tottenham for 16 years and it’s his decision. The perceptionis normal, but when you see the other side, he’s a very close person.

“We spend a lot of time talking and I am happy to see another side to him. He’s very human, he’s sensitive. He’s so clever and he’s funny too. It’s true. This is how I know him.

“[At the end of last season] his reaction was so supportive, and when people behave in this way it’s always important to recognise it. It’s easy for him to blame me or the team, but he was very supportive.

“I was so upset [after the game against Newcastle] and sometimes he gives me a few days – no messages, no calls. Then he came, face to face and we can speak and we can talk about what had happened.

“He said to me ‘I know very well that you are so upset, and that is why I didn’t want to disturb you, but now we can speak because after two days we are a little bit more relaxed’. It was good.”

The respect surely extends both ways given the transformation Pochettino has overseen at Tottenham.

Like at Southampton, the Argentinian’s focus on player development has paid off, enabling Spurs to benefit from their investment in their academy and also keep recruitment costs in check.

“If you see Tottenham three years ago and now, every single player that we keep – that we give the opportunity to play and help to develop and increase all the value – they are much better than three years ago, that is true. Every single player,” said Pochettino.

“Of course every season in football you need to make some changes for different reasons and different circumstances – because we change the ideas in our mind, because we are looking to improve or different things happen.

“But we are a coaching staff that loves to help the players, we love to be close to the players, to understand them.

“We are always people that push a lot because we believe that you need abilities but then you need the willingness to be better and be a champion.

“If you have good abilities but your willingness if below your abilities, you are dead, or can win some games but you cannot win trophies or be a champion.”

In the past stars have developed at Tottenham before moving on to the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Walker may yet follow suit. But, with Levy at the helm as Spurs aim to complete their stadium project, Pochettino can envisage a day when Tottenham reach that “last level” and find themselves on a leveller playing field with their wealthiest rivals.

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