Liverpool Duo Caught in Chaos

John Heitinga made it four losses from four in the Champions League this week, leaving Ajax bottom of the table and the head coach facing more calls for the sack.

Having left Liverpool to rejoin Ajax as head coach over the summer, Heitinga is facing the prospect of losing his job just months later.

This comes with increasing pressure on the 41-year-old, whose side lost 3-0 at home to Galatasaray on Wednesday night to leave them rooted to the bottom of the Champions League table.

Ajax have lost all four of their games in the league phase, while they are also fourth in the Eredivisie – eight points behind Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.

In a statement following the defeat to Galatasaray, the Ajax supporters’ club called for Heitinga to be replaced by a more experienced head coach.

“Johnny is not the right manager for this Ajax”

“The AFCA Supporters Club has enormous respect for Johnny Heitinga as a player. This will always be the case; he remains a child of the club,” their statement reads.

“But now we evaluate him as the manager of Ajax.

“After 11 league matches with 13 losses and an eight-point deficit to the top spot, the dismal performance in the Champions League, and a style of football that constantly brings tears to your eyes, we can only come to one conclusion.

“Johnny is not the right manager for this Ajax. It’s time for a new, experienced manager!

“We urge Alex Kroes and the other technical policymakers to immediately come up with a solution and take action This is no longer sustainable. The decline in sporting performance must be halted now.”

This comes with AD reporting that Kroes, the Ajax technical director, met with former coach Erik ten Hag days before the clash with Galatasaray.

Speculation is mounting that Ten Hag – who was sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just three games and has been linked with the vacant Wolves job – could therefore return as Heitinga’s replacement.

Heitinga himself insisted on Wednesday night that he will “always keep fighting” and would “never leave” Ajax of his own volition.

Kroes has backed the head coach publicly but there appears a growing sense that Heitinga’s days in the dugout at the Johan Cruyff Arena are numbered.

Liverpool duo caught in the chaos

That comes with two Liverpool players currently on loan at Ajax, with James McConnell coming off the bench in the miserable 3-0 loss to Galatasaray.

It marked the young midfielder’s first appearance since being substituted at half-time in a 3-2 win over FC Twente, going unused in the next game, but sources in the Netherlands have questioned Heitinga’s decision to sign him.

Vitezslav Jaros‘ time in Amsterdam had been more positive, but an injury during the October international break and a 2-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar immediately after has seen him lose his place to 41-year-old Remko Pasveer.

Pasveer has conceded 11 goals in four games since taking over from Jaros.

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