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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

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

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, 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 joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches 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 lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"