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

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

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

"He is a really good 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 after - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

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