The agent of recently departed Tottenham assistant John Heitinga has criticised the Lewis family over the appointment of interim manager Igor Tudor. Former Ajax boss and Liverpool No. 2 Heitinga joined Spurs back in January to support Thomas Frank, but departed the club just 33 days later, following the Dane's sacking.
Heitinga's agent, Rob Jansen, has now revealed why Heitinga turned down the opportunity to remain with the Europa League winners as part of Tudor's coaching staff, telling Dutch podcast Kieft Jansen Egmond Gijp: "He was allowed to stay. They even asked him to stay. All other coaches, all Scandinavian, left.
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"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.
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"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 believes the appointment of Tudor, who suffered defeat in his first match in charge on Sunday when Spurs lost 4-1 in the north London derby to rivals Arsenal, showed a lack of ambition. He continued: "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 among four coaching staff to depart Tottenham alongside fellow assistant Justin Cochrane, head of performance Chris Haslam, and analyst Joe Newton.
Bruno Saltor subsequently joined as Tudor's assistant alongside goalkeeper coach Tomislav Rogic and physical coach Riccardo Ragnacci.
Heitinga, 42, served under Arne Slot during Liverpool's title-winning campaign before returning to his former club Ajax.
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He penned a two-year deal with the Dutch side, whom he also managed as caretaker boss in 2023, last May, but was dismissed in November after a 3-0 home loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League. The former Everton centre-back also served under David Moyes at West Ham before joining Liverpool.