Why Roger de Sa quit Orlando Pirates

As the club continues the search for his successor, rumoured to be Muhsin Ertugral, Roger de Sa has revealed the reasons for disembarking the Sea Robbers ship.

A Belgian coach, Luc Eymael, has been seen in attendance at Pirates' last three Absa Premiership: a loss to SuperSport United, a draw with AmaZulu and De Sa's last match in charge, a victory over Ajax Cape Town.

Eymael was in contention for the job but was beaten to it by De Sa.

On Friday, De Sa ended speculation about his future with Pirates when he tendered his resignation following a heart-to-heart conversation with Bucs boss Irvin Khoza.

"Right now, my batteries are flat. I don't want to work half-heartedly. It is against my beliefs and morals," said De Sa yesterday.

"I had a heart-to-heart with the chairman and informed him that I was battling to motivate myself in the morning.

"I don't want that. When I started feeling like that, I felt my time was up."

The 2002-03 PSL coach of the season said Khoza was dismayed by his decision to sever ties a season-and-a-half into a three-year contract.

"I went in and said I wanna go. He was quite surprised. But I told him if I can't give you my 100%, it is not good for me, for you, the club and the fans. Nobody deserves that," said De Sa.

In his 16 months at Pirates, De Sa led the side to three cup finals but earned a hat trick of silver medals.

Last year, Pirates endured the cup final heartbreak as their attempt to add more silverware to their double treble came to zero.

They lost the MTN8 and Telkom Knockout to Platinum Stars.

In between that they fell at the final hurdle to Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the Confederation of African Football Champions League.

The bridesmaid tag remained a sore point for the Ghost, who never really warmed to De Sa's surprise appointment in September 2012.

"I'm disappointed about that [losing three finals]. I would have loved to give Khoza and the fans the gold. Especially the Champions League. That was the ultimate dream but we were a moment of bad luck away from it. I walk away with my head held high," said De Sa.

"I enjoyed the opportunity. I loved the good and bad press, that is part of the journey.

"Khoza has been good to me. A lot of people say things about him. I'd like to differ.

"In all honesty, my dealings with him have been outstanding and I hope they continue to be. We shook hands and parted on a good note. That's important because I may come back to Pirates one day."

De Sa disclosed that he has had three job offers but declined to name the teams.

One of those teams is Ajax Cape Town.

"He is talking to Ajax and don't be surprised to see him in Cape Town in the coming weeks," said a source.

Ertugral, whom reports have linked to Pirates, dismissed any association with the club when contacted yesterday.

"I have not spoken to anybody from Pirates," he said. "Tomorrow I'm flying to Istanbul to sort out family matters."

Pirates are eighth on the Premiership log standings.

Eric Tinkler will see the season through as the club's caretaker coach.

Khoza's phone rang unanswered yesterday.

But in a statement issued by the club he said: "Roger leaves Orlando Pirates with an enhanced CV. I wish him well in his future endeavours."

• sports@timesmedia.co.za