Spurs Defender Micky van de Ven Shares Surprise At Ange Postecoglou Dismissal

Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a mere 16 days after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs 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 The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten league matches.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad was missing a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the break," he explained.

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

"However, coaches study everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure 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.'"