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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable 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."

"However, managers study everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we need to change some things and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"