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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

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

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure at the back. 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."

"However, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero 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 agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"