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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told The Overlap podcast.

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

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I like 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 under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, managers analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the manager and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"