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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back 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 two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham 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 Premier League, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

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

"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. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"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, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football 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 break," he explained.

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

"However, coaches analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager 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 expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"