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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed 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 dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

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

"But, managers analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we should change some things and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"