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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

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

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

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

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

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, managers 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 resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and said we should change some things and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"