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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 spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last season at the helm.

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

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

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

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately 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.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. 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."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"