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Van de Ven joined Tottenham from Wolfsburg in August 2023 Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven said he "never expected" the club to sack former manager Ange Postecoglou. The Australian's two-year tenure came to an end just 16 days after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final – the club's first major trophy for 17 years. However, the club's European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with Tottenham finishing in 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge. He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank in the summer but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 matches, and suffered a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday. "He was a really good manager. I still really like him, " Van de Ven told The Overlap podcast. "I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware for Tottenham. "Afterwards, when he got sacked, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this'. " Tottenham beat Man United 1-0 in May's Europa League final in Bilbao Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Antonio Conte, and enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, taking 26 points from his opening 10 league matches. However, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five matches and Tottenham's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by two points. The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches. Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style of play, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes Tottenham lacked a "plan B" and revealed he and Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the manager. "I liked the offensive play [under Postecoglou] 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 counter-attack, " he said. "At the beginning [under Postecoglou], no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football. "But managers analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a plan B and we were getting exposed. We didn't have solutions to get out. "At one point [me and Romero] walked up to the gaffer and said we need to change some things and play more defensive to make sure we win those games. He was like I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows. " What fans, insiders and stats say about embattled Frank Latest Tottenham news, analysis and fan views Ask about Tottenham - what do you want to know? PSG ordered to pay Mbappe €60m 'Now is the time for England to play like adults' Where does Old Trafford thriller rank among best Premier League games? Suggs and the Nutty Boys bring their infectious music Jack Reacher creator, Lee Child, soundtracks his life Preview Julia Donaldson's joyful tale of love Greg Jenner kicks through the history of football A 'throwback' to Man Utd's past, defensive chaos and a classic Where does Old Trafford thriller rank among best Premier League games? Innovation, evolution, revolution - golf's new faces championing change Rohl's Rangers roll on - should Celtic & Hearts be worried? What fans, insiders and stats say about embattled Frank Vote for your Sports Personality Team of the Year Chiefs miss out & Packers' Parsons pain - NFL week 15 round-up Mount purring for Man Utd but does he have World Cup chance? 'Helping daddy regrow' - how Hoy family found strength amid cancer diagnosis. Video'Helping daddy regrow' - how Hoy family found strength amid cancer diagnosis Man City favourites and Liverpool in trouble - how WSL stands at winter break Palmer & Foden on target - but Rogers 'has to start' at World Cup 'Anger and disappointment' as fans priced out of World Cup 'There can only be one singer' - my secrets of successful man-management BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025 contenders. Video BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025 contenders 'Mine was for social change, this is not' - King on Battle of the Sexes The man behind the headlines - Salah, by Klopp, Diaz and more Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.