John Heitinga responds to sack threat as ex

John Heitinga responds to sack threat as ex-Liverpool coach and Everton star under fire

John Heitinga left Liverpool in the summer to take up the head coach's role at Ajax, but things aren't going to plan

Ex-Liverpool coach John Heitinga faced a fierce line of questioning after Ajax were thrashed 4-0 by Marseille in the Champions League, with members of the assembled Dutch media asking if he thought he should resign before he was sacked.

Former Everton defender Heitinga was appointed as an assistant coach to Arne Slot following his compatriot's arrival at Anfield in the summer of 2024, and he was a popular member of the backroom staff during his year at the club.

Heitinga even served as the de facto manager on the touchline in Premier League games at home to Newcastle and Southampton in February and March as Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff served bans for red cards they received against Everton after the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

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However, since returning to former club Ajax in the summer things haven't gone to plan for Heitinga. The Amsterdam giants sit third in Dutch Eredivisie, four points behind Slot's former club Feyenoord, while they have lost both of their Champions League games without scoring a goal after a 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan on Matchday 1.

On loan Liverpool goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros shipped four goals in Marseille, who the Reds will face in the Champions League in the New Year, while fellow Liverpool loanee James McConnell missed the match through injury.

Dutch journalists questioned the former Everton midfielder Davy Klaassen about Heitinga's future after the match, and when they then pressed Heitinga himself on whether this would spell the end of his time in charge he replied: "No, I don't think so. It's fair. If you want to ask that question, then you should ask it. But I hear you're looking for it with Davy too.

"Listen, the fans are disappointed, we're disappointed. The players were completely exhausted, fought until the very end. We kept playing football, with courage. But we're a team in construction. And eventually I know we'll get it right, but that will take some time."

Marseille raced into a four goal lead before the hour mark at the Stade Velodrome, with former Feyenoord man Igor Paixao bagging a brace and Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also finding the net.

"You're simply playing against a very good team, the one that beat Paris Saint-Germain (1-0 in Ligue 1) last week," continued Heitinga. "A team that has given Champions League lessons. I complimented the boys. We played with courage, fought, and even after being down 4-0, we kept fighting.

"I'm definitely sticking to my plan. We're trying to play with courage. I see them every day. You only see them under the four floodlights. In football, you can make a mistake.

"Only in the Eredivisie are they not punished, but here they are. We want to get back to Champions League level, but we have to grow in that area."

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