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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

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

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he continued.

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses 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 won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"But, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the manager and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"