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Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was 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 backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

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

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, 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

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style 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 don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"