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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

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

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like 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 is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on 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

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" 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 appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike 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 unbelievable football."

"However, managers analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

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