John Heitinga's agent reveals Tottenham asked him to stay, but he left for one key reason

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John Heitinga’s agent, Rob Jansen, has revealed what Tottenham Hotspur told the Dutch coach after parting ways with Thomas Frank.

Heitinga was mooted as a contender to take charge of Tottenham until the end of the season after Frank’s sacking became official two weeks ago.

The Dutch coach was hired by Spurs as the first-team assistant coach in January and had experience of the top job at Ajax.

However, in the end, Heitinga followed Frank out of the door, and it has been claimed that it was the 42-year-old who decided to leave Tottenham rather than being pushed out of the door.

Tottenham asked John Heitinga to see out his contract

Reports from the Dutch media have claimed over recent days that Heitinga did not see a future at Spurs after the arrival of Igor Tudor, even though the Lilywhites wanted to keep him.

The former Everton centre-back’s agent has now confirmed that Spurs wanted their client to see out his contract after the impact he had made at the club in his one-month stay.

Rob Jansen told Kieft Jansen Egmond Gijp podcast (as relayed by FCUpdate) about Heitinga: “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.”

Why Heitinga did not want to work under Igor Tudor

Jansen revealed that the former Ajax head coach did not want to work with a coach like Tudor, who has only been given a short-term contract at N17.

The Dutchman was concerned that his job may be uncertain again in the summer if and when Spurs hire a full-time head coach.

Heitinga’s agent revealed about his client’s response to Spurs: “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’.”