Tottenham Defender Van de Ven Expresses Surprise At Ange Postecoglou Dismissal

Spurs defender Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

Yet, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in his last season at the helm.

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

"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 backstage. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.

However, that unbeaten run was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a mere two points.

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

Tactical Concerns Revealed

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the coach.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable 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 getting exposed. We lacked answers to resolve it."

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