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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss 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, delivering the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

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

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio 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 season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play 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 break," he said.

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

"However, 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 didn't have solutions to resolve it."

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