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Spurs defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like 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 after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach 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 at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, managers study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"