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

The Australian'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 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched 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 summer, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, 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 told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

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

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

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

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we should change some things and play 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.'"