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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

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

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

"But, managers study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure 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, make sure everybody knows.'"