“Alex Kroes has started,” Van ‘t Schip referred to the new general manager of Ajax. “He is talking to a lot of people. We have also discussed my future. I am stepping down as head coach. That is clear. But we are talking about another role for several years. Nothing is clear about that yet. I want to be there now too.” “I don’t want to talk about it. I want to fully focus on the last eight matches with Ajax. That is no problem for me.”
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.
‘Like this, like that’
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’, which makes no sense,” he said. “I’m communicating it now, but this was already clear to me. When I signed with 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 to 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 job. 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.
