Tottenham Defender Van de Ven Expresses Shock At Postecoglou Dismissal

Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

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

"He was 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 behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I texted 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 Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested 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 sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"