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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he led the team to a win in the European final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five games, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. 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 style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to get out."

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