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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for 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 afterwards - he is the coach 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.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager 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 expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"