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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

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 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is 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. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success 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 club's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"