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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to victory in the European final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

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

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

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 offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we should change some things and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"