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Spurs defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

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

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

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

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