John Heitinga was the collateral damage of Thomas Frank’s sacking by Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.
The Dutchman departed the club after serving as Frank’s assistant for just 33 days as Igor Tudor opted to bring his own coaching staff to N17.
Reports from the Dutch media appeared to mock Heitinga for his short spell at the club, although it could be argued that he couldn’t have done much to save his job.
And now, his agent Rob Jansen has shared some details on what actually went down around the time of Frank’s sacking.
Tottenham wanted Heitinga to stay
Heitinga previously served as the head coach for Ajax’s youth side before getting the job on an interim basis after Alfred Schreuder’s departure.
After that, he served as David Moyes’ assistant at West Ham United and Arne Slot’s number two at Liverpool before returning to Ajax at the start of the current campaign.
His move to the Eredivisie giants was set to be his big break, but things quickly unravelled for him as he was sacked midway through the season after an underwhelming run of results across all competitions.
Heitinga then joined Frank’s coaching staff, only to leave a month later following the Dane’s sacking.
However, Jansen reveals Tottenham actually wanted the Dutchman to stay at the club as part of Tudor’s coaching staff.
He said (quotes from Sport Witness via the KieftJansenEgmondGijp podcast): “He was allowed to stay. They even asked him to stay. All other coaches, all Scandinavian, left. And after three weeks, they told him: ‘Please stay and see out your contract here.’ That’s quite an achievement for someone who worked there for three weeks.”
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“But he said: ‘Yes, but now Igor Tudor, a Croatian coach, is coming with a whole staff for three or four months’. That man is always hired for emergency jobs.
“That almost never works. Why they did that is a mystery to me. And then another coach will come in.
“So, you can leave twice. That new coach will also come in with 45 people. He said, ‘This is pointless, Rob. I have to leave now.”
Heitinga wanted Tottenham interim job
Having served as Ajax’s interim coach, Heitinga fared quite well during his first stint with the club as he led them to a third-place finish in Eredivisie and reached the final of the KNVB Cup.
However, he was inexplicably snubbed at the start of the 2023-24 campaign as Ajax eventually opted to give the job to appoint Maurice Steijn instead.
The Dutchman steadied the ship at Ajax three years ago and according to his agent, he was on the lookout for a similar role at Tottenham after they decided to part with Frank.
Jansen continued: “But there was a chance he would take over; we had that in mind. Only: the club didn’t. After three weeks, they decided it was too soon. So, then you have an interim manager.”
“What does the management do, or in this case, the owners, the Lewis family? They opt for some kind of security. They hire someone with a track record, someone known as a crisis manager at struggling clubs, for a few months.
“That saves their image. Unless they dare to continue with Heitinga and a new staff, but they won’t.”
And finally, he appeared to confirm that Heitinga received a compensation package for his troubles as he remains on the lookout for his next assignment on the touchline.
