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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

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

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, 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.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. 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 style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, 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 get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"