Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.
Postecoglou's spell in charge came to an end a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.
However, this continental triumph was not matched in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last season at the helm.
He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the summer, but Tottenham are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 defeat to Forest at the weekend.
"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told The Overlap podcast.
"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that won silverware to the club," he added.
"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my friends and said, 'I never expected this.'"
The Australian manager arrived at Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.
However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, ultimately failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two points.
The following season, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.
While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender believes the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the manager.
"I enjoyed the offensive play under Postecoglou but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.
"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing unbelievable football."
"However, managers analyse 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 didn't have solutions to resolve it."
"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure 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.'"
Elara is a financial strategist with over a decade of experience in wealth management and entrepreneurship.
