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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky 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 over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, 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. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"