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

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in his last campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

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

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately 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

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he explained.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

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