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Spurs defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

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

"He is 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 odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

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

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we need to change some things and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"