Ferguson left Perth Glory today after three seasons in charge following a dramatic turnaround in the club's fortunes this season.

Last year's grand finalists are currently propping up the ladder with just two points from the last possible 24, unable to score in more than five hours of football, and without a single win since before Christmas.

The weekend's 2-0 loss to Melbourne Heart and comments to the press after the match proved to be the final straw for Fergie's career at Perth.

"I had a long chat with Ian after the game and agreed to chat again last night and again this morning," said Sage today. "After that series of phone calls and meetings, it was mutually agreed that he leave the club."

In Saturday's post-match press conference, Ferguson admitted his job was on the line but insisted he was working under a restricted budget at Glory which was a factor in the run of poor results.

And at an earlier press conference, Ferguson had also revealed details of Sage's heart condition which the mining tycoon had wanted to keep private.

But although Sage insisted these were not the reasons for Ferguson's exit, he admitted he was furious. 

"I wasn't happy," said Sage today. "It's a private matter about my situation, I didn't want it to be public. I go in for a procedure tomorrow and the doctor says I could be running by next week.

"That's how simple the procedure is and I didn't want that to get out in the public domain. I was pretty upset."

But he insisted: "That had nothing to do with what happened today. It's all about performance. We are an elite football team. It's very disappointing.

"Bottom of the ladder with the team we have assembled is just not acceptable in any professional sport. We mutually agreed it was best for him to go.

"I don't think he lost the players, I just think he is a man of high integrity and he felt that everyone questioning his abilities and being where we were, it was time to call it quits."

But Sage refuted Ferguson's weekend claims that Glory were being underfunded this season.

"I don't agree with that," said Sage. "He had the full support of finances. He assembled his squad by June 30. That squad cost $3.2 million. The salary cap is $2.5 million, so I can't understand a comment like that.

"I take that as a slight on the club. We are $700,000 more. If you go to at least five clubs, they pay underneath the salary cap, and we were $700,000 over the salary cap.

"We did have a few players leave about the same time as something happened to me and I just wanted to put everything on hold until that situation was resolved.

"My commitment is 100 per cent but obviously I've been battered from pillar to post in the last few months, and I'll come out of that bigger and stronger.

"My energies will be going into my passions which are Perth Glory Football Club and obviously my businesses.

"We are only four points off sixth spot so it's all very positive going forward and I don't think Fergie wanted to be an impediment to that so he left."