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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

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

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th place in his last campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and said we should change some things and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"