MANILA -- Nearly two months after having been officially installed to his post, Terry Butcher is leaving the Philippine Azkals.
In a surprise development on Friday, the former England skipper announced that he will not push through with his new job.
"I'm sorry to announce that I will not be proceeding in the role as head coach of the Philippines national football team," Butcher said in a statement.
On what prompted the stunning resignation, Butcher, who last coached a football club in 2015, said, "The vital issue for myself was to carefully build a robust plan to meet the football ambitions of the national team and 'do the country proud.' Regretfully, I've not been able to make this work in the way that I intended."
In another statement, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) accepted "with understanding the announcement of Coach Terry Butcher's not to proceed as head coach of the National Team of the Philippines."
The PFF, however, added that it will move on from Butcher's resignation.
"The PFF will continue with the necessary team preparations for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 this November and the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 in January 2019," the federation said. (PNA)
