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

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender believes the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"