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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

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

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

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

"But, managers analyse everything and opponents 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 said we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"