Tottenham Defender Micky van de Ven Expresses Surprise At Ange Postecoglou Sacking

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

The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on 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 brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou arrived at Spurs from Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

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

"However, managers study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we need to change some things and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"