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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

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

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told 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 won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

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

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

"However, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"