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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 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 The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

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

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

"However, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"