🔗 Share this article

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

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - 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, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, 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 mere two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

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

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"