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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th place in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, 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 have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

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

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, 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 arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate 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.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

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

"On one occasion me and Romero approached 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 want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"