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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

"I'm not sure 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 added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, 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

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked 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 getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, managers study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure 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.'"