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

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering 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 disappointing 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas 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 really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange 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 friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

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

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

"But, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

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