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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led the team to victory in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, 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 told The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we should change some things and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"