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

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

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

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"However, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to get out."

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