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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th place in his last campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to get out."

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