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

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style 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 points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"However, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to get out."

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