🔗 Share this article

Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted 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 team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

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

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, 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.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"