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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven 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 Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats 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 Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked 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 break," he said.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, managers analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times 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 gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"