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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge came to an end a just 16 days after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on 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 is the coach that won silverware to the club," he continued.

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"Initially with that system, 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 backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

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