🔗 Share this article Tottenham Defender Van de Ven Expresses Shock Over Postecoglou Dismissal Micky van de Ven joined Tottenham from Wolfsburg in the summer of 2023. Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou. Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he guided the team to victory in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades. Yet, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final campaign at the helm. He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, 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 have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast. "I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued. "Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'" Tottenham defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the final in Bilbao. Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches. However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin. The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 league matches. Tactical Concerns Revealed Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international Van de Ven believes the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the coach. "I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said. "At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football." "But, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out." "On one occasion Romero and I walked up to the manager and said we should change some things and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"