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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a just 16 days after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed 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 exceptional football."

"But, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the manager and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"