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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was used 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 plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"