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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he led the team to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

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

"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

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"