Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven has admitted he "was completely surprised by" the club's move to part ways with ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian's spell in charge was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the team's first major trophy in nearly two decades.
However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.
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 at the weekend.
"He is a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender stated on a podcast.
"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that won silverware to the club," he continued.
"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my father and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"
The Rise and Fall
Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He enjoyed early success with his attacking style of play, collecting 26 points from his first ten Premier League games.
However, that unbeaten run was halted with four losses in five matches, and the club's season tailed off, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.
In the next campaign, they won just 11 out of 38 Premier League fixtures.
Lacking a Plan B
While he appreciated the attacking approach, Dutch international the defender thinks the team was missing a "plan B" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more cautious style with the manager.
"I liked the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I dislike getting exposed every game on the counter-attack," he explained.
"At the beginning with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football."
"However, managers analyse everything and opponents 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 get out."
"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and said we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we secure victory in those games. He was responded, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"
