Tottenham Centre-Back Micky van de Ven Expresses Shock At Ange Postecoglou Dismissal

Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a mere over two weeks after he led the team to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.

"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went backstage. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Dutch international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing 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 under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he explained.

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."

"However, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. At times we didn't really have a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to resolve it."

"At one point Romero and I approached the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I understand with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"