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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

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

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and suggested we should 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, make sure everybody knows.'"