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Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on a podcast.

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

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

The Rise and Fall

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

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

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

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate 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 used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we should change some things and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"