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

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, 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 arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero 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.'"