‘We suffered a lot’: Spurs star Micky van de Ven ‘never expected’ Ange Postecoglou’s sacking after trophy win

The departure of Ange Postecoglou may not have come as a surprise to most after weeks of speculation indicated he was on borrowed time, but for Tottenham defender Micky van de Van, it was a reality he “never expected”.

Just 16 days after he led Spurs to a drought-breaking Europa League trophy, then club chairman Daniel Levy decided to pull the pin and dismiss Postecoglou with immediate effect.

The timing of the decision had a blindsiding effect, given the recent success that Postecoglou had enjoyed, although the Australian has since admitted he knew his time as manger was up.

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A 17th place finish in the Premier League could not be overlooked at the time and prompted calls for his dismissal in the weeks leading up to the Europa League final. Yet Postecoglou did not back down, staying true to his beliefs and game plans to ensure his bold claim of always winning things in his second year would come true.

Ange Postecoglou has won 16 trophies throughout his management career. Getty

Van de Ven was one of the many players who got his start in the Premier League under Postecoglou. The star defender went from a $6m player in the Dutch League to one worth over $87m when he arrived at Spurs.

The 24-year-old has continued to rise under new manager Thomas Frank, but he conceded he still can not believe that Postecoglou was allowed to leave the club.

“He was a really good manager. I still really like him,” Van de Ven said of Postecoglou on The Overlap podcast.

“I don’t know how everything went backstage. I didn’t expect it. Of course, you see a lot of rumours out there. There was not a a day that I didn’t scroll on my phone and see nothing about our gaffer. There was always something.

“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’.

“I just messaged Ange and told him ‘all the best in the future’. I didn’t say it was a strange decision by the club, I just said I never expected this to happen. I thanked him for his two years that we had with him.”

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Ange Postecoglou consoles Micky van de Ven after he leaves the pitch due to injury. Getty

One of the biggest criticisms Postecoglou faced throughout the final months at Spurs was based on the perception that he was refusing to alter his strategy when the team was struggling.

That became more pointed when the club won just 11 of their 38 Premier League games, however, the manager often set the team up differently in their European campaign.

Van de Ven said he and teammate Cristian Romero had flagged concerns with Postecoglou about there being no ‘Plan B’ option in the latter stages of the Premier League season.

“I liked the offensive play [under Postecoglou] but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank,” he said, when asked to compare the two managers styles.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero (left) celebrates victory with Micky van de Ven. CameraSport via Getty Images

“We are more secure at the back (now). I don’t like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack.

“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’.”

Those defensive changes became clear in the Europa League final, but it was one of the few times that style of play come into effect under Postecoglou.

Van de Ven conceded that was due to the Australian’s desire to make sure they won.

“Before the final, everybody just knew we had to win the trophy, it didn’t matter how we did it,” van de Ven said.

“Today we just need to make sure we are going to stand with that silverware at the end of the whistle from the referee.

“At half time, Ange said that we just need to keep pressing, but when it doesn’t work we need to drop back. Just make sure that we lock the back door and make sure they don’t come through.

“He was never really (one to say) let’s just sit back and make sure we win the game. But when we were 1-nil up, he was like ‘ we are f—ing going to win this game’.

“We suffered that season, a lot,” he continued.

“From the media and the fans … there are so many memes about Spurs, it is unbelievable. But when I joined Tottenham I knew that (criticism) was going to come.

“My best friend is a Liverpool fan and he was straight on me, ‘you’re going to join Tottenham and never win a trophy’. He was at the final and was happy that we won.”