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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere 16 days after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th place in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, 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 arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere 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 Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

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