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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last campaign in charge.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting 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 secure at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

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