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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last campaign in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

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

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we should change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"