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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

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

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before 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 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

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