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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. 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, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach 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 defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

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