🔗 Share this article Tottenham Defender Micky van de Ven Expresses Surprise At Ange Postecoglou Sacking Micky van de Ven signed for the North London club from the German side in the summer of 2023. Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou. Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a mere 16 days after he guided Tottenham to a win in the Europa League final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years. However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the team ending up in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge. He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Tottenham currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend. "He is a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast. "I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued. "Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'" Spurs beat Man United 1-0 in the final in Spain. Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his offensive philosophy of play, collecting 26 points from his opening 10 league matches. Nevertheless, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five matches, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two points. The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures. Tactical Concerns Revealed While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the team lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed adopting a more defensive approach with the coach. "I enjoyed the attacking football at that time but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said. "Initially with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football." "But, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to resolve it." "At one point Romero and I approached the manager and said we need to adjust tactically and play 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, ensure everybody knows.'"