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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided the team to victory in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told The Overlap 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 brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach 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 secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and play 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 handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"