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

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

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

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"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

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

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

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football 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 with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, managers analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

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