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Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager 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 stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

In the next campaign, 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 squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

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

"But, managers analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager and suggested we should change some things and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"