Speculation is growing about the future of Ajax head coach John Heitinga after it emerged technical director Alex Kroes met former manager Erik ten Hag this week.

Sources told AD.nl that the two men held extensive talks at Kroes’s home in Huizen, while stressing that it was “only a coffee meeting” that was scheduled some time ago.

But with the club bottom of the Champions League table after four defeats and lying in fourth place in the Eredivisie, Heitinga’s position has looked increasingly shaky.

The coach himself insisted he was going nowhere following Ajax’s 3-0 home defeat to Turkish champions Galatasaray on Wednesday. Asked if there was a point at which he would consider stepping aside, he snapped back: “No, that’s not going to happen”.

But with the atmosphere at the club growing restless, the decision may be taken out of his hands. Shortly before kick-off on Wednesday evening AFCA, the second largest Ajax supporters’ club, released a statement calling for Heitinga to be replaced.

Ten Hag, who led Ajax to the semi-final of the Champions League in 2019, is a free agent after being sacked by Bayer Leverkusen in August just three matches into his reign, though he has also been linked to the vacant manager’s job at English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Heitinga has been at the helm since Francesco Farioli’s abrupt departure at the end of last season, but fans see his lack of experience as a first-team coach – he was previously assistant to Arne Slot at Liverpool – as evidence that the club lacks ambition.

“Huge respect”

AFCA said it had “huge respect for Johnny Heitinga as a player”, referring to the seven years he spent as a defender at the club between 2001 and 2008. “But we are judging him now as the coach of the Ajax first team,” they said.

“After 11 league matches, eight points behind [Feyenoord and PSV in the Eredivisie], the miserable performances in the Champions League and a style of football that’s enough to make you weep, the only conclusion we can come to is that Johnny is not the right head coach for Ajax. It’s time for a new coach with experience!”

Heitinga replied in the post-match press conference: “I haven’t seen the statement, but it’s obviously disappointing to hear. I’m a real son of this club, I’ll give my all for Ajax.”

To rub salt into the wounds, Farioli, the coach who took Ajax within a whisker of winning the league title last season, is back in the Netherlands with his new club, Porto, who are playing Utrecht in the Europa League.

Farioli keeps counsel

Porto are top of their domestic league with nine wins from 10 games and in contention to progress in Europe’s second-tier competition. But the Italian deflected questions about whether the fans’ growing appreciation of his achievements since Heitinga took over made him feel proud.

“What would have made me feel proud was giving the title back to Ajax,” he said. “But unfortunately it wasn’t possible.

“I’m watching the games as a supporter from a distance,” Farioli said when asked his former club’s current predicament. “I don’t think it’s kind to comment.”

Ajax have a chance of salvaging some pride in their next Champions League match on November 25 when they take on Benfica, the only other team with no points from their opening four games. The question is whether Heitinga will still be in a position to take advantage.