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

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. 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 system. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"