🔗 Share this article

Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with former manager Postecoglou.

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

"Afterwards, 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 arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said.

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

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

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"