Amid the chaos surrounding Tottenham, it now emerges that there’s more to worry over. Rob Jansen, the agent of John Heitinga, has broken the news that Spurs offered him a continued role at the club, and what his client thought of the move.
“He was allowed to stay. They even asked him to stay. 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 someone who worked there for three weeks,” he said.
“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.
“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’.”
Some may not take the thoughts of Heitinga seriously, and they are welcome to hold that view, but this is an industry professional. However, John is not alone in his opinion.
Former Tottenham midfielder Gus Poyet has told Boy Hotspur’s Substack that he believed his former side would turn to Tim Sherwood as their interim manager to provide some Premier League expertise, instead of Igor Tudor. The former player and coach made his feelings quite clear.
“I was expecting someone with a lot of experience coaching in the Premier League to be given the job – someone like Tim Sherwood, who has experience at the club and in the league. Tudor looked shocked on Sunday, as if he had realised what he’s got himself into at Spurs – it looked like a reality-check!
Because Arsenal beat them in every aspect of the game, which I don’t think he was expecting. But now I think he’d admit he’s got a harder job than what he first anticipated. After watching the derby, you can see the team are in big trouble and they need their injured players to return as soon as possible.”
Poyet has a point here, especially when one takes into consideration Sherwood’s win rate. Yes, Tim had his critics, yet this is not a popularity contest, and it may have helped Igor if he had Tim’s deep understanding of how the club worked.
What is certain is that Spurs are running out of time, and whatever happens, failure is not an option.
