Liverpool coach banned player from training for being two minutes late as clear warning sent

Liverpool players will have to be on their best behavior next season, with John Heitinga set to bring a no-nonsense approach with him to Merseyside.

The former Everton defender has been confirmed as the latest addition to Arne Slot’s backroom staff . He joins as an assistant coach, following Sipke Hulshoff , Ruben Peeters , Aaron Briggs and Fabian Otte as the new head coach’s team grows.

Heitinga arrives having most recently worked on David Moyes’ coaching staff at West Ham, following a long association with Ajax. The 40-year-old worked for years with the Amsterdam club’s academy, where he helped to bring through some of the club’s biggest names in recent years, including Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch .

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Heitinga played a big role in the success enjoyed by Ajax under now-Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, and he did it thanks to taking at times a tough approach with his players.

Explaining his methods to The Athletic in 2020, Heitinga said: “We take risks. It means we can lose games as well. Of course you want to win but it’s important to learn. The individual player is the priority. Sometimes we put them out of their comfort zone.

“With one player, we told the parents not to say anything but I’d call late on Monday telling him he needed to be at the airport early the next day for a UEFA Youth League game that Tuesday. We see how he handles it.

“Last year, one of my best players came too late for the training session before the Youth League game against Lyon. I said ‘Thank you for coming but you’re not coming with us to France’.

“Another once came two minutes too late and he wasn’t allowed to train. I gave him another kind of session on Saturday. Every player is allowed to play badly every now and then but we want to always see intensity and fight.”

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool’s players best make sure their watches are set right. Heitinga was known for his tough approach to defending during his playing days, and he might well have brought that with him into his coaching career.

Not that the Reds should need it since it seems to be a good group at the AXA Training Centre, although the hard-line approach will be needed from time to time. In Slot and Heitinga, Liverpool might be developing something of a good cop, bad cop coaching setup.