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Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

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

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Spurs are presently in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender 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 afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, when he was dismissed, 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

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

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

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he explained.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager and suggested we should change some things and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"