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Spurs defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last 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 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"