🔗 Share this article

Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks 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 team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in his last campaign in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham 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 backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

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

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

"However, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"