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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss 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 European final, delivering the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, 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 a podcast.

"I'm not sure 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 the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender believes the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

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

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure 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.'"