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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted 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 mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was 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. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, 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

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

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

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

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we need to change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"