🔗 Share this article

Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

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

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

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

"However, managers study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we need to change some things and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"