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

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th place in his last campaign at the helm.

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

"He was a fantastic 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 strange how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable 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."

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

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