🔗 Share this article

Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

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

"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Later, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad 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 Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed 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 Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

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

"On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager and said 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 want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"