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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just 16 days after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

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

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