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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the European final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, 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 ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs 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 told a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd 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 friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back 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 solid 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 system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"