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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

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

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I approached the manager and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"