Tottenham asked John Heitinga to remain on as coach after Thomas Frank departed, but he left as he felt his situation was ‘pointless’ in north London.
The Dutchman was only appointed as a coach at Spurs in January, brought in to work under Thomas Frank after an unsuccessful spell in command of Ajax.
His stay at Tottenham was very short, with Frank axed earlier this month after a string of poor performances and results.
Heitinga went with him, meaning he was a Spurs coach for just 32 days, leaving the club languishing in a relegation battle within the Premier League.
The previous Netherlands international’s agent, Rob Jansen, claims that Tottenham wanted Heitinga to stay after Frank’s exit.
The coach even hoped he could step as much as change into manager, however the club decided he had not been around long enough to warrant that promotion.
Igor Tudor was brought in as interim manager, taking charge until the top of the season.
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Jansen says Heitinga actually had options to remain, but felt that working under a brand new manager, with latest coaches, just for him to get replaced again at the top of the season, seemed pointless.
‘He was allowed to remain. They even asked him to remain,’ Jansen told the KieftJansenEgmondGijp podcast, via Sport Witness.
‘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 somebody who worked there for 3 weeks.
‘But he said: “Yes, but now Igor Tudor, a Croatian coach, is coming with an entire staff for 3 or 4 months”. That man is all the time hired for emergency jobs.
‘That nearly never works. Why they did that may be a mystery to me. After which one other coach will are available in. So, you may leave twice. That latest coach may also are available in with 45 people. He said, “That is pointless, Rob. I actually have to depart now”.’
On the chance that Heitinga could have stepped as much as change into Spurs boss, Jansen said: ‘There was a probability he would take over; we had that in mind. Only: the club didn’t. After three weeks, they decided it was too soon. So, then you have got an interim manager.
‘What does the management do, or on this case, the owners, the Lewis family? They go for some type of security. They hire someone with a track record, someone often known as a crisis manager at struggling clubs for just a few months.
‘That saves their image. Unless they dare to proceed with Heitinga and a brand new staff, but they won’t.’
Tudor began his reign with a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday and is back in motion at Fulham this Sunday within the Premier League.
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