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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently 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 told The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I dislike being vulnerable 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 exceptional football."

"However, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

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