Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to dismiss ex-boss Postecoglou.
Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.
However, this European success was not matched in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.
He was succeeded by ex-Brentford manager Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit in 11th place, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.
"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven stated on The Overlap podcast.
"I don't know how everything went backstage. I didn't expect it. It was strange how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that won silverware to Tottenham," he added.
"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'I never expected this.'"
The Rise and Fall
The Australian manager joined Tottenham from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his first ten Premier League games.
However, that fine start was halted with four losses in five matches, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a mere two-point margin.
In the next campaign, they managed only 11 out of 38 league matches.
Tactical Concerns Revealed
While he appreciated the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven thinks the squad lacked a "plan B" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more cautious style with the manager.
"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.
"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."
"However, coaches study everything and opponents figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to resolve it."
"At one point me and Romero approached the gaffer and suggested we need to change some things and be more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"
