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

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

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

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender believes the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, coaches analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

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