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

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he explained.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and suggested we should change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"