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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

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

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, 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 defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure 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.'"