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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable 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 lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"