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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we should change some things and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"