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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

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