The discussion with Danny Rose had turned towards José Mourinho and how it felt to have a manager of his winning mentality in control at Tottenham. “Who said he’s in control of the club?” Rose shot back.

It was late on Wednesday night, in the aftermath of Spurs’s 3-1 Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich and, although Rose did not specify, everybody knew who had the control. It is not Mourinho – rather the chairman, Daniel Levy, with whom it is fair to say Rose has had his differences.

Rose said last month that Levy had told him over the summer he would not be given a new contract to replace the one that expires in June 2021. Spurs’s attempts to force the defender out came to nothing and so Rose took a decision: to run down his deal and leave as a free agent. The 29-year-old’s position has not changed – no matter that he is impressed Spurs have been able to attract a manager of Mourinho’s calibre to replace Mauricio Pochettino.

“I’ve never had a conversation with him [Mourinho] and I don’t see why I need to,” Rose said. “As I said before, I’m here for the next 18 months, so I don’t see why I need to have a conversation with the manager. I want to do as well as I possibly can, work as hard as I can to achieve what looked impossible a few weeks ago, and that is finishing in the top four [of the Premier League].”

Mourinho knows what he has signed up to at Spurs in terms of transfer budgets; that there is not a pot of money in January to reshape the squad. It surely will not stop him from pushing for a signing but any mid-season business is likely to have to be offset by sales, which could be tricky given the stance of players such as Rose. Christian Eriksen also intends to run down his deal, which expires in the summer.

One signing Mourinho wants to make and is optimistic about completing is that of the sporting director Luis Campos, who is at Lille. Mourinho took two members of the Lille technical staff when he joined Spurs – the assistant coach João Sacramento and the goalkeeper coach Nuno Santos; they cost £3m – but he is determined to get Campos to head recruitment.

Campos has become one of the most sought-after executives in European football after his work at Lille and Monaco, where he has overseen the development of a host of young talent. He is also of interest to Chelsea and Manchester United. Campos is expected to consider his options at the end of the season.

Lille’s sporting director Luis Campos, who is wanted by Tottenham, at Chelsea this week. Photograph: Elli Birch/IPS/Rex/Shutterstock

Mourinho is trying to fix various dynamics at Spurs and Rose said every player is effectively starting from scratch. “We’re all starting from the same starting point or, at least, I hope we are,” he said. “It’s very good [under Mourinho]. I had the privilege of working under Mauricio for five and a half years and now, I have to be honest, I never thought I would be managed by José Mourinho at Tottenham.

“That’s credit to the club, how well they’ve progressed, and to get someone like José has been brilliant. He’s one of the most decorated managers of my lifetime, so it’s been a good start for the team and I’ve enjoyed it so far. He is a serial winner, so I imagine we will be looking to win the FA Cup and finish in the top four of the league.”

Spurs have won three of Mourinho’s four league matches and are seventh in the table, six points off Chelsea in fourth. They are away at sixth-placed Wolves on Sunday before playing Chelsea at home the following Sunday.