🔗 Share this article

Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team'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 lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Afterwards, 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 Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

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

"But, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the manager and suggested we should change some things and be 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.'"