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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

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

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, 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. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"