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Tottenham Hotspur 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.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

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

"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 strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses 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 won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"Initially under Postecoglou, 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 lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"