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Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, managers study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the manager and said we should change some things and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"