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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"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

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

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

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"