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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

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

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

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

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style 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 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 won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou 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 explained.

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

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

"At one point Romero and I approached the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"