🔗 Share this article

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

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in his last campaign in charge.

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

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told The Overlap 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 won silverware to the club," he added.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five matches, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, managers analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"