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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager 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, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

The following season, 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 "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid 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 unbelievable football."

"But, managers study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

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