John van ‘t Schip will stop as Ajax coach after the season: ‘We are talking about a different role for several years’ | Dutch football

“Alex Kroes has started,” Van ‘t Schip referred to the new general manager of Ajax. “He’s talking to a lot of people. We also talked about my future. I’m stepping down as head coach. That is obvious. But we are talking about another role for several years. Nothing is clear about that yet. I don’t want to talk about that right now either. I want to fully focus on the last eight matches with Ajax. That is no problem for me.”

The 60-year-old Van ‘t Schip has been head coach of Ajax since the end of October, after the departure of Maurice Steijn. He would actually be given a role in technical management and is under contract with the Amsterdam club until the summer of 2025.

Van ‘t Schip did not want to say whether he would have liked to remain head coach of Ajax. “Then we start talking about ‘if this’ and ‘if that’, that makes no sense,” he said. “I’m communicating it now, but this was already clear to me. When I signed for Ajax, I was actually going to support Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Kelvin de Lang and be an extension of the youth academy at De Toekomst. But things can change quickly in football. After this season I will speak with Kroes again in detail. I think the intention is for my new contract to expire at the same time as his contract.”

Kroes has signed a three-year contract with Ajax. “He makes a driven and energetic impression on me,” said Van ‘t Schip. “But he faces a gigantic task. It will take quite a while before it becomes visible what he is doing.”

Kroes is not just looking for a new head coach. He also wants to appoint a director of transfer affairs and head of youth development.

Want to know more about Ajax?
• Read everything about Ajax in our file

• Follow Ajax watcher Johan Inan X

Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!

Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.

Yes, I want free unlimited access