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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he led the team to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"However, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we need to 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.'"