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Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" 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 the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

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

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

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

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

In the next campaign, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou 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 explained.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and suggested we need to change some things and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"