John Heitinga was expecting to get the Tottenham Hotspur job on an interim basis after Thomas Frank’s sacking.
That’s according to journalist Valentijn Driessen, via Soccer News. He reports that the appointment of Igor Tudor left him surprised.
Heitinga departed his role as Tottenham assistant manger on February 16th, just 33 days after joining the club. Tottenham brought him in to support Thomas Frank as pressure grew on him.
He had previously served as an assistant manager at West Ham and Liverpool, the latter last season as they won the title.
Short Tottenham spell
The hope was that he could help turn things around at Tottenham with the expertise he offers. Instead, Spurs went without a win in five Premier League games during his time on the touchline.
Despite that, according to Driessen, he hoped to take the job on an interim basis when Frank was eventually sacked. Instead, they turned to Tudor and the Dutchman departed.
“If you read the statement: he could have stayed, and of course he was still there,” he said.
“That manager had been fired last week, and John could have stayed, but he had hoped to become interim manager for the rest of the season. Then he heard that Igor 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 manager. 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.'”
What follows Tottenham?
The question now is what comes next for Heitinga. A return to Liverpool might have made sense, but they’ve now got Giovanni van Bronckhorst alongside Arne Slot as his replacement.
There is always David Moyes on the other side of Merseyside. He originally brought him to West Ham as his assistant and worked with him as a player as well. His team at the Hill Dickinson seems set, though.
Or perhaps there’s a big job somewhere to allow the 42-year-old to finally establish himself.