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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to victory in the European final, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Later, 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

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"