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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he led the team to victory in the European final, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

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

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

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, 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

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, 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 won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"