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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

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

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

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach 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 don't like 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."

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

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"