Tottenham Defender Micky van de Ven Shares Surprise Over Postecoglou Dismissal

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

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

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

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the club's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed 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 system. We were playing unbelievable football."

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

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