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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

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

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"