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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

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

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

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

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a 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 brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan 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 suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"