🔗 Share this article

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

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 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," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

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

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the club's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

"Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"