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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he led the team to a win in the Europa League 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 place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 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 still really like him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, 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 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and said 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, make sure everybody knows.'"