Arnold claimed he was a victim of the “cultural cringe” and that he was only criticised during his tenure as caretaker boss because of his nationality.

“I only received flak because I was Australian, at the end of the day,” he said. “I got support from the players but not from the critics. I’m Australian, and they just want to hammer Australian coaches.

“I’ve worked in international football for seven years, and Australia makes and develops good coaches, but some people think because we are Australian we don’t belong here.”

Arnold also dismissed suggestions he lost the confidence of the FFA board, reserving special praise for Chairman Frank Lowy.

“Frank Lowy and the board have been extremely supportive of me and what I’ve been doing, even when there have been hiccups because they know how difficult Asia is,” he said.

“People ask me if I’m sad. I’m not sad, I’m extremely happy because I’ve had a chairman and a CEO who have been honest with me the whole way and I knew this day was coming."

After taking over from Guus Hiddink in July last year, Arnold seemingly struggled to make an impact, enjoying only modest success as he secured four wins in nine outings prior to the Asian Cup.

As speculation swirled surrounding possible candidates for the role, his slim chances of securing the top job full-time hinged on Australia’s performance during that tournament.

But after a questionable preparation, marred by claims the Socceroo squad had been struck by spates of player infighting, his fragile grip on the position was torn from his hands in emphatic fashion by a united and resolute Iraqi side.

The former NAC Breda star admitted the tournament was his only regret from his time at the helm of the team, leaving a stern warning of the tribulations faced by the Socceroos as they continue their journey across the Asian continent.

“The biggest hiccup I had obviously was with the Asian Cup but my question always was and goes back to how do you prepare for a tournament you’ve never played in before?,” he said.

"How do you prepare for conditions you’ve never played in before? How do the players prepare for that? These are all answers I have now, but before the Asian Cup I didn’t have those answers.”

He added: “It took the Oman and Iraq bad days to make the players realise that Asia is not easy.

“It is going to be a tough road, a lot of you journos were there and saw the conditions but you haven’t been to the Middle East yet, and let me tell you, that is worse.”

Although he will now return to his previous role as Olyroos coach, Arnold emphasised his determination to remain involved with the senior team as an assistant to the new coach.

“I’m here to help, to be here for the game," he said. "I understand all the players who play in Europe because I played there myself. I understand the difficulties, the mentality of it all and what it is like to do the travel.

“For whoever does come in, I understand the Australian mentality and the culture. When I was with Hiddink, I was able to give him all that information because whoever comes in needs that information.”