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Spurs centre-back Micky 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 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

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

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

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

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, managers study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we should change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"