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John Heitinga joined Thomas Frank's Tottenham backroom staff as assistant coach in January but he left the club after just 33 days following the arrival of Igor Tudor
The agent of recently-departed Tottenham assistant John Heitinga has hit out at the Lewis family over the appointment of interim boss Igor Tudor.
Former Ajax boss and Liverpool No.2 Heitinga joined Spurs back in January to support Thomas Frank but left the club just 33 days later following the Dane's dismissal.
His representative Rob Jansen has now revealed why Heitinga snubbed the chance to remain with the Europa League winners as part of Tudor's coaching set-up, telling Dutch podcast Kieft Jansen Egmond Gijp: "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’.”
Jansen feels the appointment of Tudor, who lost his first game at the helm on Sunday when Spurs were defeated 4-1 in the North London Derby by rivals Arsenal, lacked ambition.
He explained: “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.”
The 42-year-old was one of four staff members to leave Tottenham alongside fellow assistant Justin Cochrane, head of performance Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton.
Bruno Saltor has since arrived as Tudor's assistant alongside GK coach Tomislav Rogic and physical coach Riccardo Ragnacci.
Heitinga, 42, worked under Arne Slot during Liverpool's title-winning season before departing for former employers Ajax.
He signed a two-year contract with the Dutch giants, who he also led as interim coach in 2023, last May but was sacked in November following a 3-0 home defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League. The former Everton defender also worked under David Moyes at West Ham prior to joining Liverpool.
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