Tottenham Defender Micky van de Ven Shares Surprise Over Ange Postecoglou Dismissal

Tottenham Hotspur 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 spell in charge was terminated a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for 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 afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.

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

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they managed only 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero spoke about adopting a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike getting exposed 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."

"But, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We lacked answers to get out."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the manager and suggested we should 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 sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"