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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

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

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

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. 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 Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender believes the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate 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 break," he explained.

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

"But, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we need to change some things and be more defensive to ensure 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, make sure everybody knows.'"