This is why John Heitinga has decided to quit Tottenham after Igor Tudor arrival
John Heitinga’s short stay at Tottenham has already come to an end upon the arrival of interim boss Igor Tudor.
Former Ajax manager Heitinga only joined Tottenham in mid-January when he became part of Thomas Frank’s backroom staff.
Now that Frank has been sacked, though, the former Liverpool first-team coach is looking for new opportunities away from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Before Tudor‘s appointment on Saturday, on a deal for the rest of the season, Heitinga was reportedly being considered for that role.
And according to the Daily Mail, Heitinga didn’t want to stick around to be part of Tudor’s entourage for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.
John Heitinga didn’t want to be part of Igor Tudor’s entourage
After Tudor was sworn in at Tottenham on Saturday, he began working with the squad for the first time on Monday.
Assistant coaches Justin Cochrane and Chris Haslam, who followed Frank to Brentford last summer, have left, as has Heitinga.
The Dutchman only lasted 32 days at Tottenham, and now it’s said that Heitinga did not wish to remain part of the new coaching structure under former Juventus boss Tudor.
The ex-Marseille manager has not taken long to shape his backroom team, with assistant coach Ivan Javorcic, physical coach Riccardo Ragnacci and goalkeeping coach Tomislav Rogic all joining him.
Elsewhere, set-piece coach Andreas Georgson and individual development coach Cameron Campbell, both of whom joined last summer, are set to stay. And goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte is expected to be retained despite Rogic’s arrival.
Incidentally, all these departures will mean hefty pay-outs for Tottenham, too.
Have Tottenham landed the right man in Tudor?
When Tudor was initially announced, there were quite a few grumblings among Tottenham’s fanbase, with many not best pleased with his managerial record.
Indeed, the Croatian has had 12 managerial jobs in 11 years, many of which he has been sacked from not very long into the role.
He was dismissed by Juventus last year after just seven months in charge, and the sole trophy he has won was at Hajduk Split in 2013 when they lifted the Croatian Cup.
| Igor Tudor’s top five longest managerial stints | Win percentage |
| Hajduk Split: April 2013-February 2015; 78 games, 35 wins, 21 draws, 22 losses | 44.87 |
| PAOK: June 2015-March 2016; 45 games, 17 wins, 17 draws, 11 losses | 37.78 |
| Galatasaray: February 2017-December 2017; 34 games, 19 wins, four draws, 11 losses | 55.88 |
| Hellas Verona: September 2021-May 2022; 36 games, 14 wins, 11 draws, 11 losses | 38.89 |
| Marseille: July 2022-June 2023; 48 games, 27 wins, eight draws, 13 losses | 56.25 |
However, Tudor does have a reputation for being something of a firefighter – a term used for managers who can get teams out of trouble as a short-term fix.
For instance, he kept Udinese in Serie A in 2018 and going by his first Spurs interview, supporters seem optimistic that he can do a job at the north London team.
They currently sit 16th in the Premier League and are just five points above the relegation zone. But the naysayers will be out in force if they lose the North London Derby to league leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
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