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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he led the team 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 matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"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

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two points.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about taking 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 dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, managers analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"