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Spurs defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

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

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

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

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager and said we need to change some things and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"