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

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to 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 behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

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

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

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