🔗 Share this article

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, 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, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, managers analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we should change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"