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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

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

"At the beginning with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"