![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/spurs-4-1140x641.jpg\")
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Credit: Breaking Media<\/p>\n
![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/danlewis-150x150.jpg\")
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Fri 23 January 2026 20:30, UK <\/p>\n
Thomas Frank could potentially be hours away from the Tottenham sack.<\/p>\n
Tottenham did well to see off Borussia Dortmund 2-0<\/a> in the Champions League in midweek, but there is a sense that is delaying the inevitable.<\/p>\n Frank held talks with Tottenham chiefs<\/a> this week on the back of a terrible display and result in losing 2-1 at home to West Ham.<\/p>\n And while many expected Frank to have already been sacked by Tottenham<\/a>, what feels like the inevitable could well happen on Saturday.<\/p>\n Spurs take on 19th-placed Burnley at Turf Moor, where surely anything than a victory for Tottenham<\/a> will signal the end for Frank.<\/p>\n If Frank<\/a> was to go this weekend, or indeed at any point over the next month or so, it does not seem likely that a permanent replacement will be brought in immediately. <\/p>\n Even if Spurs chiefs were being proactive behind the scenes, there would be plenty of negotiating to do before an appointment could be made.<\/p>\n So whether it is for one game, two games, or until the end of the season, someone will likely need to steady the ship on a temporary basis.<\/p>\n And that is where one of Frank\u2019s right-hand men could come in.<\/p>\n Spurs hired John Heitinga as assistant manager<\/a> this month, which raised more than a few eyebrows among the Spurs fanbase.<\/p>\n Heitinga<\/a> is vastly experienced in the coaching world, having managed Ajax himself either side of assistant roles with West Ham and Liverpool.<\/p>\n It could be argued that Frank bringing someone in is a sign there is no immediate plan to sack him, but the opposite could so easily be true.<\/p>\n Heitinga is pretty much as good an interim appointment as Spurs could make, given that experience listed above.<\/p>\n Frank will therefore be looking over his shoulder \u2013 almost quite literally \u2013 should things not be going to plan at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n What is John Heitinga\u2019s record as a manager?<\/p>\n Heitinga has moved back into the world of coaching, rather than managing, which seems to suit him better.<\/p>\n The Dutchman has earned praise for his work at West Ham and Liverpool, only leaving the latter in May 2025 \u2013 fresh on the back of a Premier League title triumph \u2013 to manage Ajax.<\/p>\n StatHeitingaGames managed96Wins42Draws26Losses28Win percentage43.75%Heitinga\u2019s managerial record<\/p>\n However, Heitinga lasted just five months in the job before being sacked following a dismal start to the campaign for the Eredivisie heavyweights.<\/p>\n That will not put Spurs off, though, as he will not be manager permanently, but rather just for the next four months or so.<\/p>\n It is an appointment that ticks many boxes, and one that could so easily be made official before too long.<\/p>\n Stay ahead of the action \u2014 subscribe to Tottenham News on Substack<\/a> for more exclusive insights and match-day analysis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Breaking Media Fri 23 January 2026 20:30, UK Thomas Frank could potentially be hours away from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,129330,112,17378],"class_list":{"0":"post-261252","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-john-heitinga","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-thomas-frank"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Tottenham](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/TWO-STATS-RANKING-1-819x1024.jpg\")
Credit: Breaking MediaCould Thomas Frank replacement be the man sat alongside him?<\/p>\n![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/frank-4-819x1024.jpg\")
Credit: Manh Tung \u2013 Breaking Media<\/p>\n