Tottenham Centre-Back Van de Ven Shares Shock Over Postecoglou Dismissal

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a mere 16 days after he led Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in his last campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told The Overlap podcast.

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

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

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed adopting a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

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

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we need to change some things and be more defensive to ensure 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.'"