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Spurs defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European 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 side finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"