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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team 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 off-season, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style 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 at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

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