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

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

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager 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 Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

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

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

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

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

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

"However, managers study everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"