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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss 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 club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs 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 have a lot of respect for 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's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"However, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"