🔗 Share this article

Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

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

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender believes the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and said we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"