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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on 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 is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he explained.

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"