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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou 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 said.

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

"However, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

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