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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last season in charge.

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

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told 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.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"