🔗 Share this article

Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 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 revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

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

"But, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached 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, make sure everybody knows.'"