Van 't Schip to leave Heart

Melbourne Heart coach John van ‘t Schip is set to leave the club at the end of the current Hyundai A-League season.

Melbourne Heart coach John van ‘t Schip is set to leave the club following the completion of his contract at the end of the current Hyundai A-League season.

The AFC Ajax legend informed Heart-s board and management on Tueday that he has decided to return home to Europe.

Heart chairman Peter Sidwell paid tribute to the Dutchman, saying the values and ethos he brought to Heart will forever remain part of the fabric of the club.

“John arrived in Melbourne with a clear vision for the establishment of this Club, as a proponent of the fundamental belief in challenging the status quo by demonstrating the importance of developing youth and instilling an ethos underlined by playing attractive, attacking football," Sidwell said.

“Drawing on the methods of former mentors Johan Cruyff and Louis van Gaal, John duly delivered on his promise, offering unparalleled opportunity for development and growth to some of our most exciting young talents, in addition to uncovering a number of diamonds in the rough.

“We are grateful to John for his on and off field contribution to our Club, and hope the end of his tenure doesn-t mark the end of a relationship, but simply an evolution of our current one.”

Appointed as Heart-s inaugural Head Coach in October 2009, van ‘t Schip arrived in Melbourne with a mandate to implement an overarching football philosophy, designing the blueprint which would ultimately be identified as integral to the club-s identity.

Heart said they will immediately start their search for van 't Schip's replacement, with a view to having a candidate in place for the next pre-season.