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

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

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

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on 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 the club," he continued.

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and play 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, ensure everybody knows.'"