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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to 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 behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions 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.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he explained.

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"