Ajax director of football Alex Kroes has insisted he does not regret taking manager John Heitinga from Liverpool this summer.

NOS have comments from him today about the former Liverpool coach, who is currently under fire at the Dutch club.

Heitinga was hired in the summer as a replacement for Francesco Farioli. It is his second spell in charge after an interim spell for 22 games in 2023.

He returned to the Netherlands after a spell coaching in England, first with West Ham and then Liverpool. He was seen as a key member of Arne Slot’s backroom team during their title success last season.

Things have not gone well at Ajax so far. They’ve had a difficult start to the season, currently sitting six points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven. They’ve also lost 2-0 and 4-0 to Inter and Marseille in the Champions League.

Some are now calling for Heitinga to be removed from his position, despite it still being early days for his second reign at the club. Kroes is having none of that, though, and would prefer to be sacked first before seeing Heitinga go.

“Last year, during a difficult period, I...