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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

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

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

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"