Jurgen Klinsmann said the outpouring of support he's received from players since he was fired as United States coach on Monday has been "overwhelming."
Klinsmann was let go by U.S. Soccer following a string of unsatisfactory results, the latest coming in two World Cup qualifying defeats to Mexico and Costa Rica this month.
After the 4-0 defeat in Costa Rica last week, there was speculation that Klinsmann had lost support in the dressing room, but the coach said in a video on Facebook that many of his former players reached out to him when they heard the news.
"A very, very special thank you I want to say to all of the players. The response from them yesterday when the news came out is overwhelming," Klinsmann said in his first public comments since losing his job.
"All the text messages, all the calls I received from the players of support is very emotional for me and I really, really appreciate it. I wish them the best of luck.
"I was 1,000 percent convinced we were going to qualify for Russia 2018 after those two losses. It's now down to a new coach getting the job done, but I'm still convinced he will get, and the team will get, the job done and we'll have a tremendous 2017 and hopefully a tremendous World Cup in Russia."
On the decision to fire him, Klinsmann said only: "It's come to an end, obviously you've got to respect that."
Klinsmann spent most of the message thanking the U.S. fans for their support, as he saw the supporters' base get "bigger and bigger" in his five years in charge.
"I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for an amazing ride over the last five and a half years," he said. "It's been an amazing experience, it's been a huge, huge honor to lead the national team over that amount of time.
"We've had some amazing experiences together. 2012, a record year. 2013, another record year and winning the Gold Cup. 2014, getting out of the group of death against Ghana and Portugal in Brazil with all of you down there.
"Then obviously a bit of a disappointment with the Gold Cup, but then in 2016 we picked it up and we played in amazing, unforgettable Copa America this summer."
Klinsmann concluded by urging fans to continue to demand success from the national team.
"Keep supporting your team, it's your national team. You own that team," he said. "Push them in all the qualifiers now coming up, get all the points that we need in order to be in Russia 2018."