Spurs Centre-Back Van de Ven Shares Shock At Postecoglou Dismissal

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a just over two weeks after he led the team to a win in the European final, delivering the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

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

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

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

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on a top-four finish by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure 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.'"