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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere 16 days after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a 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 brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, 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 Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

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

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, managers study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we need to adjust tactically 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 handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"