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

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere 16 days after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a 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 Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager and said we need to change some things and play 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, make sure everybody knows.'"