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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

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

"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 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, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting 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 secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, managers analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"