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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

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

He was succeeded 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 on Sunday.

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

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

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

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 cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play 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 counter-attack," he explained.

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

"However, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we need to change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"