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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

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

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for 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 odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, 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 Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

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

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"