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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 Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, 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 The Overlap podcast.

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

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

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

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football 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 break," he said.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we should change some things and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in 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.'"