Micky van de Ven has said he “never expected” Ange Postecoglou to be sacked after winning the Europa League.
Despite ending Tottenham's 17-year wait for silverware, the Australian was let go after finishing fourth from bottom in the Premier League.
Speaking to Gary Neville on the Overlap, Van de Ven spoke on the decision, as well as his relationship with his former boss and the conversations they had over the change in style that led to the European success.
Micky Van de Ven shared a good relationship with Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur
Van de Ven was full of praise for the Australian and felt it was “strange how everything went afterwards”.
“He is a really good manager – I still really like him. I don’t know how it all went down behind the scenes, winning the Europa League then getting sacked. I didn’t expect Ange to be sacked. There were a lot of rumours, and everyone was on Ange, like the media – there was not a day I was scrolling on my phone and saw nothing about our gaffer. There was always something about him” added the 24-year-old.
Van de Ven made a game-winning clearance off the line in the Bilbao final win over Manchester United but was left stunned by the decision to move on from Postecoglou weeks later.
“He was the manager that brought silverware to Tottenham – then afterwards when he got sacked, I sent a text to my dad and my friends, and said, ‘I never expected this’. I texted Ange as well and said, ‘All the best in the future.”
The Netherlands international also stated that he “didn’t say it was a strange decision from the club, but I said I never expected this to happen and thanked him for the two years I had with him. I had a good relationship with him, I was close with him, and he was also the manager that brought me to Tottenham.”
Postecoglou’s tenure at Spurs, as well as his ill-fated spell with Nottingham Forest, was synonymous with very offensive football and a haphazard defensive line but it changed in the later stages of the Europa League, which was partly influenced by the players.
“When we were getting further in the Europa League, sometimes we would sit down with him and say, ‘We need to adapt sometimes’. That wasn’t only with him – that was also with his assistant and other coaches.” said Van de Ven.
The Dutchman has been in brilliant form for Spurs this season despite their struggles under Thomas Frank, scoring six goals from centre-back, only behind Richarlison in the club’s goalscoring charts.
He is also expected to be a key part of Ronald Koeman’s squad for the World Cup next summer where the Netherlands have been drawn in a group with Japan, Tunisia and the winner of the UEFA playoffs pathway featuring Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Albania.
