🔗 Share this article

Spurs defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the club'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 disappointing 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my father and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"