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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he led the team to victory in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

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

"At the beginning with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to get out."

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