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

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on a 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 brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my father 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 ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time 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 said.

"Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, managers study everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the manager and suggested we need to 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, make sure everybody knows.'"