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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he added.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"However, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

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