There has been much innuendo about Verbeek's future post World Cup over the past few months, despite the fact he qualified Australia for both the World Cup and the Asian Cup.

The Dutchman never established a permanent base in Australia and spent much of his time in Europe with his family, meaning he endured a hectic schedule. He said the decision to leave wasn't an easy one, but that he could not commit to the job long-term.

"From my side it wasn't easy to make the decision, Ben (Buckley - FFA CEO) has given me time to make the right decision because he knows how important the decision was not only for me but FFA," he said.

"In the end I found out that signing another contract for Australia is not really what I want, I want something new."

While club management in Europe was said to be one motivating factors behind Verbeek's decision to leave, the Dutchman would not conform if he wanted to take up a role in the next European season

"I'm not going to speak about my future," he said. "I think it's about now. I think at the moment it's about Australia and it's about the decision I want to do something else.

"It's never been a secret that in the future I'd love to be back on the field. 'In the future' could be eight to ten years though."

He said that family and avoiding the hectic schedule he has endured over the past two and half years were pre-requisites for his next job.

"The next decision will have to consider the family situation," he said. :The amount of time I have been away and the travelling I have to make and the jetlag you have to get over.

"In the end you have to make decisions also. The decision always involves family."

Buckley said that FFA would have been happy to offer Verbeek another contract given his achievements to date, but that he would have had to commit right through to the 2014 World Cup.

"We were certainly interested in Pim staying on beyond the World Cup," said Buckley. "We had a number of discussions about that and we were hopeful that Pim would give consideration to that and he did.

"I think for the reasons that he's outlined, you have to be in the right frame of mind and the right level of motivation to commit yourself for that length of time. We totally understand Pim's decision, we totally respect it.

"We would have liked to have found a way for Pim to have committed beyond but we respect the decision he's made."

Buckley does not believe Verbeek's decision to announce his decision to leave less than three months before the World Cup will be a destabilising experience.

He addedL "Not at all, I think the level professionalism in the staff, the players, they understand the way the football world operates.

"I think if anything, the constant speculation the constant innuendo, the constant rumours that might have abounded would be much more distracting than dealing with the issue and being open and honest about it."