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Spurs defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message 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 Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike getting exposed 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 exceptional football."

"However, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager and said we should change some things and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"