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

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th place in his last season in charge.

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

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Later, 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

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"However, managers study everything and opponents 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 answers to resolve it."

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