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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a mere 16 days after he led the team to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

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

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"However, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I approached the manager and suggested we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"