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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

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

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

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told The Overlap podcast.

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

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager 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, ensure everybody knows.'"