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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

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

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

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

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"But, managers analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times 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 said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"