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Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

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

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

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back 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 solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure 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, make sure everybody knows.'"