John Heitinga leaves Tottenham Hotspur after 33 days as four more staff members let go in Igor Tudor overhaul
John Heitinga has left his role as Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach just 33 days after being appointed.
The former defender was appointed to Thomas Frank’s backroom staff last month after his Ajax departure in November.
Heitinga lasted just five months at the Johann Cruyff Arena having been shown the exit following a 3-0 defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League.
The Dutchman was tipped to be named interim coach following Frank’s Spurs exit in the wake of their 2-1 loss to Newcastle last week.
However, former Juventus boss Igor Tudor was named Frank’s successor until the end of the season over the weekend.
John Bye-tinga
And Heitinga is one of those to have departed as the Croat assembles his own backroom staff in the club’s quest to beat the drop.
Justin Cochrane, Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton have also been dismissed as part of a backroom reshuffle.
In their place, Ivan Javorcic is set to come in as assistant coach, Riccardo Raganacci as physical coach and Tomislav Rogic as goalkeeping coach, though their respective appointments are subject to work permits.
Tudor took over the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium reins over the weekend as Spurs look to beat the drop.
The north London side are currently just five points above the relegation zone having won only two of their last 17 league matches.
The 47-year-old, though, insists it is an ‘honour’ to take over as Spurs head coach.
To Dare is Tudor
“It is an honour to join this club at an important moment,” Tudor told the club’s official website.
“I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match.
“There is strong quality in this playing squad, and my job is to organise it, energise it and improve our results quickly.”
The former Juventus, Marseille and Lazio boss has a tough start to life at Tottenham, however.
Tudor’s first game in charge is the welcome of north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners sit top of the Premier League, four points clear of Manchester City, and can extend their lead when they face Wolves at Molineux on Wednesday night, live on talkSPORT.
Spurs then travel across the capital to Fulham at the start of March before league meetings with Crystal Palace, Liverpool and relegation rivals Nottingham Forest before the next international break.
Additionally, Spurs have Champions League last-16 ties in March, where they’ll face either Juventus, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid or Club Brugge once the play-offs have been completed later this month.
Threegor Tudor
And Spurs fans who became disillusioned to life under Frank can look forward to attacking football under their new boss.
At least that’s according to his former defender, William Troost-Ekong.
Tudor doesn’t have any Premier League experience, but Troost-Ekong, who played under the former defender during his time at Udinese, has revealed what Spurs fans can expect from their new boss.
“We had him two times at Udinese,” he said on talkSPORT Breakfast. “He’s a manager that likes to play 3-5-2 or a variation of it from what my experience was.
“Attacking football, high back line, tries to press high, can be quite direct. He’s definitely a personality so if they need someone to shake up the place and get everyone going, then he’s definitely the right person for it.
“The north London derby is probably the perfect game to start. He’s definitely someone who’s not intimidated by anything like that.
“A big personality and he’s going to get everyone trying to run through a brick wall. I think that’s probably been my experience with him.”
Troost-Ekong added: “My time with him, he was very focused on instilling the confidence back in the team. He came in at two moments when we weren’t doing too well.
“I think for Spurs at this moment in time he’ll work a lot with the back line. There was a lot of tactical work that we did. Maybe if they’re going to switch it up now to a 3-5-2, that would probably be the first thing.
“I think also the high pressing and maybe more exciting football. I think the stadium probably needs something to get them out of their seats again. He’s definitely the person for that.
“You’ll probably see a lot of goals but there could be some conceded as well, because you play with quite a high risk in the high line.
“That will probably be his biggest difference I would say, and try and get everyone to run forward as much as they can really.”
Troost-Ekong also feels that Tudor’s lack of experience in the Premier League won’t be an issue.
“I think it probably is a factor but to a certain extent, he’s also had some great jobs. Whether it’s managing Galatasaray, Juventus, and Marseille,” the former defender continued.
“And as a player he’s very experienced as well, so I think that part probably wouldn’t be that he’s out of his depth completely, but it’s a big change.
“The Premier League is a very scrutinised league, a lot to talk about, always, so that part might be slightly different.
“Maybe working with a big group of talented players, but I wouldn’t think that will be too dissimilar to his job at Juventus before.”
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