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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He is 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 strange how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, managers study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"