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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere 16 days after he led the team to a win in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"