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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

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

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team 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 liked the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"