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

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

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

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

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

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike 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 analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager and said we need to change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"