‘He Had Hoped’ – Journalist Lifts Lid On Coach’s Tottenham Exit Decision
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Dutch journalist Valentijn Driessen believes that John Heitinga left Tottenham Hotspur when Igor Tudor became the Spurs boss because he felt that there would be no future for him at the club next season.
The north Londoners are having another season to forget domestically after they finished as low as 17th last term under Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian was sacked despite him winning Spurs the Europa League and Danish boss Thomas Frank was chosen to take the project forward, but he also failed.
Spurs are currently 16th in the table and have appointed ex-Juventus boss Tudor until the end of the season to keep their head above water.
Heitinga, who was appointed as Frank’s assistant last month, left the club a few days ago, even though it was made clear that he could have stayed.
Journalist Diressen feels that the 42-year-old initially thought that he would be the interim manager at Spurs after Frank’s sacking.
He stressed that Tudor’s short-term appointment could mean that the north London club will look for new backroom staff next season, which propelled Heitinga’s exit after only one month.
“If you read the statement: he could have stayed, and of course, he was still there”, Driessen said on the Kick-Off podcast (via Voetbal Primeur), talking about Heitinga.
“That coach had been fired last week and John could have stayed, but he had hoped to become the interim coach for the rest of the season.
“Then he heard that Tudor was coming.
“Then they sat down together, and he thought: ‘I don’t see any future here, because next season there will be a whole new staff and a new coach. He’ll bring his own people with him’.
“And he probably didn’t want to work under that Tudor, after which he said: ‘I’m closing the door behind me’.”
Heitinga became Ajax’s boss last summer, after his departure was confirmed by Liverpool, where he played the role of an assistant under Arne Slot.
The 42-year-old had a tough time in the Netherlands, and one former star advised him to take pointers from Louis van Gaal, but he was sacked last year after he had managed 15 games.
Heitinga is still young as a manager and he is highly rated; it remains to be seen where he goes next to show his pedigree.
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