Spurs Centre-Back Micky van de Ven Shares Shock Over Ange Postecoglou Dismissal

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not matched in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.

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

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

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

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

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the team lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"