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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided the team 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 matched in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

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

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap 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 won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked 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 win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"