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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just over two weeks after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was 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 behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like being vulnerable 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 analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and said 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 expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"