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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he led the team to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad 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 Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football 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 used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"