JOHN HEITINGA’S agent has revealed the Dutchman had designs on succeeding Thomas Frank at Tottenham.
But when Igor Tudor was appointed as Frank’s interim replacement, the ex-Everton star felt it was “pointless” to stay – even though Spurs allegedly wanted him to remain in post.
John Heitinga was appointed as one of Thomas Frank’s assistants on January 15Credit: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
Heitinga left Spurs along with fellow assistant Justin Cochrane after Frank was sackedCredit: Getty
but left the club just 33 days later following the Dane’s sacking and Tudor’s arrival.
Representative Rob Jansen opened up on his client when chatting on the Netherlands-based podcast, KieftJansenEgmondGijp .
Asked if Frank’s bags were already packed Heitinga chose to join , given the pressure the ex-Brentford boss was under at the time, Jansen Said: “When he arrived, the suitcase remained closed for a while.
“But that’s the risk he took. There was a chance, we had in the back of our minds, that he would take over.
“The club didn’t. After three weeks, they thought it was a bit fast. They said, ‘Well, taking over now seems really fast to us’.
“Then there’s a break and what does management do then? Or an owner, the Lewis family in this case, who rely on a kind of security because it saves their image?
“They hire someone the public thinks, ‘Yeah, they had to hire him because he has a track record of stepping in at struggling clubs for a few months’.”
, who has signed on until the end of the season, has experience of making fast starts at clubs, having done so at Udinese, Lazio and Juventus.
Though he lost his first game in charge of Spurs on Sunday as
Heitinga had head coach experience from bossing Ajax earlier this season – though he only lasted six months.
Jansen revealed Spurs were keen to keep the 42-year-old, adding: “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.
“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’.””
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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