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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

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

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message 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 ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

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

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and said we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"