Macala, who was appointed in 2002, was relieved of his duties despite leading the country to their second consecutive Gulf Cup final appearance.

He told PA Sport: "It was a big surprise. I heard the news from the newspapers and so far I haven`t received any official letter from the football association in Oman.

"Personally I think people here in Oman were happy with what we did in the Gulf Cup and I saw them celebrating, especially when Oman qualified for their second consecutive final.

"In the Gulf Cup we played great games, the Omani people were happy that we won our three group matches and then defeated Bahrain in the semis.

"In the final, UAE gave us a tough game and we had several opportunities to score, while UAE scored a goal when they controlled the play for two or three minutes."

Macala also led Oman to their second successive appearance in the Asian Cup, which will be held next summer.

"We defeated UAE here in Oman 2-1 to qualify to the Asian Cup finals for the second time in Oman history," he added.

Despite his acrimonious departure, Macala has refused to criticise the Oman FA and is determined to focus on the positive aspects of his reign.

"I will not comment about the FA decision but I would like to say that Oman is now a successful country and they have a good FIFA Ranking at the moment," he said.

"I'm proud that I took Oman for the second time in their history to the Asian Cup finals."

The former Kuwait and UAE coach admits he has received some new job offers, but is in no rush to return to management.

"As it was a real surprise, I didn't have a chance to decide where I will go, but I have some offers.

"However, I haven't received the official letter from the FA yet and I have to discuss the current situation with some people before taking my decision."