Spurs Centre-Back Van de Ven Expresses Surprise Over Postecoglou Sacking

Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, 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. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international the defender thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I liked the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"But, managers analyse everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to get out."

"At one point Romero and I walked up to the gaffer and suggested we need to change some things and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"