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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he explained.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches analyse 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 solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the manager and said we need to change some things 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 handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"