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Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

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

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

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

"I'm not sure 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 Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

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

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like 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 accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, managers study everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"