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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

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

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

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

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"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 Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

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

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we should change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"