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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

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

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, 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 arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou 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 under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, managers analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and said we need to 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 sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"