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

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position 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 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Scottish champions 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.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we should change some things and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"