Former England captain Terry Butcher as stepped down as the Philippines’ head coach just five months before the Asian Cup in the UAE.

The 59-year-old leaves his post without taking charge of a single match after appointed on June 14. He admitted the project was something he could not make work.

“The vital issue for myself was to carefully build a robust plan to meet the football ambitions of the national team,” he said in a statement to Press Association.

“Regretfully, I’ve not been able to make this work in the way that I intended and I’ve decided not to continue in this role,” he added.

Team manager Dan Palami admitted it was ‘unfortunate’ that Butcher had difficulties adapting to the challenge.

“We understand and respect Mr. Terry Butcher’s decision not to continue with his role as national team coach of the Philippines,” Palami said in a statement.

“It is unfortunate, however, that Mr Butcher had expressed difficulty in executing his plans for the national team program,” he added.

Butcher’s assistant Scott Cooper will take charge of the team with the next major test in November’s AFF Suzuki Cup, the Southeast Asian championship, before January’s Asian Cup, where the Philippines are grouped with China, South Korea and Kyrgyzstan.