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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

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

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a 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 brought a trophy to the club," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"But, coaches analyse 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 Romero and I walked up to the manager and suggested we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"