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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my mates 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, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to get out."

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