Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven has said he “never expected” the club to sack former manager Ange Postecoglou, especially after the Australian coach ended the club’s long trophy drought.
Postecoglou was dismissed just 16 days after leading Tottenham to Europa League success, their first major trophy in 17 years. Despite the European triumph, Spurs struggled badly in the Premier League, finishing 17th in his final season.
Postecoglou was replaced by Thomas Frank, but Tottenham are currently 11th in the table and recently suffered a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Van de Ven praised Postecoglou, calling him a “really good manager” and admitting he was shocked by the decision.
“I didn’t expect it at all,” Van de Ven said. “It felt strange because he was the manager who won silverware for Tottenham. I even messaged my family saying I never expected him to be sacked.”
Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic in 2023 and made a strong start, taking 26 points from his first 10 league games with an attacking style of football. However, results soon dipped, and Tottenham narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification before struggling again the following season, winning only 11 league matches.
While Van de Ven enjoyed Postecoglou’s attacking approach, he admitted the team sometimes lacked a “plan B”. He revealed that he and Cristian Romero spoke to the manager about becoming more defensive to avoid being caught on counter-attacks.
“I liked the offensive football, but I prefer how things are now under Thomas Frank,” Van de Ven explained. “We are more solid at the back and not getting exposed every game.”
