🔗 Share this article Tottenham Defender Micky van de Ven Expresses Surprise At Ange Postecoglou Dismissal Micky van de Ven signed for Tottenham from the German side in the summer of 2023. Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou. Postecoglou's two-year tenure was terminated a just 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the club's first piece of silverware in 17 years. Yet, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last campaign in charge. He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday. "He is a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on a podcast. "I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that won silverware to Tottenham," he added. "Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'" Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 in May's Europa League final in Spain. Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle The Australian manager arrived at Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten league matches. Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four losses in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin. In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches. Tactical Concerns Revealed While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach. "I liked the attacking football at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I don't like getting exposed every game on the break," he said. "At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football." "However, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked answers to resolve it." "At one point me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we need to adjust tactically and be 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 sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"