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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

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

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed 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 offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike being vulnerable 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, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to get out."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"