Roy Hodgson has accepted responsibility for England's Euro 2016 departure, but says he is "too fragile" and "the emotions are too raw" to provide a detailed analysis of what went wrong in France.
The England manager resigned minutes after England's 2-1 defeat to Iceland in Nice on Monday night.
And on Tuesday he spoke to the assorted media in what will be his last public appearance representing the national team.
"The manager is always responsible," Hodgson said. "I feel very sad, along with my coaching staff. We have great sympathy with the fans who supported me here and throughout my tenure. We all wanted the same kind of results, but there is not much more I can say on the subject because I honestly believe the players tried their best to win.
"Nothing in the first three games gave me any indication that we would lose last night. But football matches are one-off events, and really I'm still recovering.
"I feel very fragile. It wasn't a good night for anybody, because we wanted to do well. We thought we could go beyond the quarterfinals, but now we go home as losers."
Hodgson's inconsistent team selections came in for criticism during Euro 2016, and the ex-England coach also responded to reports that the squad had lost faith in him as the tournament progressed.
"We had no indication that they felt that way," Hodgson said. "I never go into those details of what I say to the players; what you say in the dressing room stays in the dressing room.
Hodgson: "We believed that, if we got to the quarter-finals, we could go beyond that but we go back as losers." #eng
- England (@England) June 28, 2016
"This group of players need to mature, but I think this group will have success at a major tournament. Sometimes your starting XI doesn't play their best game, but I think this group of players will keep getting better."
And Hodgson made his final farewell as England head coach by thanking the media for their coverage during his five years in charge.
"I don't really know what I'm doing here. I think my statement last night was sufficient," he said.
"I'm no longer England manager, my time has been and gone. But I was told it was important for everybody I appeared, I suppose that's partly because people are still smarting from our poor performance yesterday and the defeat which has seen us leave the tournament.
"I suppose someone has to stand and take the slings and arrows that come with it.
"I maintain I'm unhappy about it because it's no longer my job.
"As you can understand I'm very fragile today. It's certainly the wrong day for me to be talking about it because the emotions are too raw."
Martin Glenn: "We'll be looking for the best person for the job, not necessarily the best Englishman." #eng
- England (@England) June 28, 2016
Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn revealed that a three-man panel would begin the process of searching for Hodgson's replacement immediately.
And the CEO added that the FA would consider non-English candidates, but are keen not to "throw the baby out with the bathwater."