🔗 Share this article

Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a just 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was 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 behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

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

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

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and suggested we need to change some things and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"