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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a just 16 days after he led the team to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"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 strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender believes the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"