David Moyes says he is "disappointed" with how his time as Real Sociedad coach was ended earlier this month, saying the experience reminded him of how he was sacked from Manchester United in April 2014.
Moyes was relieved of his duties by the Liga club following their 2-0 defeat at Las Palmas just before the last international break, with the team just two points off the bottom of the Primera Division table.
The Scot, who was officially told of the club's decision by txuri-urdin president Jokin Aperribay the Monday after the Las Palmas defeat, told the Daily Mail that it had been "disappointing" for the news to have been leaked to the press in advance -- just as happened 18 months previously at Old Trafford.
"Even bad news has to be given with integrity," Moyes said. "I don't think he [Aperribay] did that in the end. Our flight back on Sunday was cancelled, so I travelled back on the Monday.
"By then I knew from other people that things weren't right. That was the disappointing thing; a similar situation [to the Manchester United experience]. I was disappointed because the president had made such a big thing of recruiting me.
"I had actually turned him down three times. And I'd turned down opportunities to return to the Premier League [as] I had an 18-month contract with La Real and out of loyalty to the president I at least wanted to finish the season there. I think the pressure from the local media was something he found very difficult. That was disappointing. I felt let down."
Moyes rejected a feeling, common in Spain and the Basque Country, that he and assistant Billy McKinlay had never fully dived into the local culture.
"We took two Spanish lessons a week and I really enjoyed my Spanish," he said. "I wasn't fluent and I wasn't coaching the players in Spanish but in time I think I would have been. I intend to keep it going. I think we immersed ourselves in the life there, though. Honestly, I know the place so well I could work as a tour guide there. I could certainly be a food guide. We went to every restaurant."
Local critics have also wondered why Moyes never moved out of his luxury city centre hotel, but he says the truth is it took time to find a suitable apartment.
"Look, the club had shown me apartments that just weren't suitable," he said. "But in the end I'd actually found one, right on the sea front, and I was planning to move in before Christmas. They were just sorting a few things out. It needed a new kitchen."
The 56-year-old Glaswegian said he had also made an effort to immerse himself in the local football culture.
"Two weeks before I lost my job I did a presentation for all the coaches in the region," he said. "I'd attended funerals for supporters. I reckon I would have gone to as many games in Spain as any manager in La Liga, because of our thirst for information and knowledge. I felt a wee bit aggrieved when they talked about the culture."
Moyes denied that his results -- 11 wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats in his 38 games in charge -- deserved the sack.
"If you took the results from when we took over in November to the end of last season I think we were fifth or sixth," he said. "[This season] our performances merited much better and I actually think the only poor performance was against Las Palmas. I also think we would have picked up. I wasn't panicking. I'd had similar seasons at Everton when we started slow and finished strong."
Moyes says that the emphasis on the youth system at La Real was not compatible with challenging towards the top of the table.
"You have to have 13 or 14 out of your squad of 22 or 23 from the club's academy," he said. "I admire the philosophy because it is encouraging their young players, but ultimately, to have the level of success they want on a regular basis with that structure is going to be nearly impossible. It limits how many players you can bring in. In the summer we signed just two players with a couple coming in on loan."
Moyes said he was now ready to start again in a new job -- either in England or abroad again.
"I took a risk," he said. "It was an ambition to work abroad. I've done that, even if I would have liked it to have lasted a little bit longer. I would hope my experience of working in La Liga would have actually enhanced my reputation.
"I think I'm probably wiser, calmer, and better for my experiences. My peak years are still to come. Some really good Premier League clubs came in for me and there are some opportunities to go abroad again. I just need a challenge that excites me -- here or in another country."