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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

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

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end 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 points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

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

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