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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

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

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on a podcast.

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

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

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

"But, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to get out."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win 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.'"