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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told 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's the manager that won silverware to the club," he added.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he explained.

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

"However, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I approached the manager and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"