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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

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

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we should change some things and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"