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Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like 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 odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender believes the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"