Spurs Centre-Back Van de Ven Expresses Surprise Over Ange Postecoglou Dismissal

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end a just 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last campaign at the helm.

He was replaced by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest at the weekend.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.

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

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father 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 Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing 26 points 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, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, coaches study everything and opponents knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were getting exposed. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"At one point me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"