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Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

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

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, 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.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end 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-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. 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, managers study everything and opponents 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 answers to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"