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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move 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, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last season in charge.

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

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

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

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

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

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

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

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"