Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Van de Ven has revealed he "never expected" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.
Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere 16 days after he guided the team to a win in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in 17 years.
However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side finishing in a disappointing 17th place in Postecoglou's final season at the helm.
He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
"He was a fantastic manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast.
"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he added.
"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my father and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"
The Rise and Fall
The Australian manager joined Tottenham 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 league matches.
Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.
The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.
Tactical Concerns Revealed
Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.
"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid at the back. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.
"At the beginning with that system, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."
"But, coaches analyse everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B 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 said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"
