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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

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

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the manager and suggested we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure 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.'"