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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

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

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

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager and said we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"