PEPE MEL has indicated that an unwillingness to "betray" his football philosophy was the driving force behind his departure from West Bromwich Albion.

The club announced on Monday that they had parted company with Mel, who only took over as their head coach in January, by mutual consent. The Spaniard kept West Brom in the Barclays Premier League but he endured a troubled reign full of defeat and turmoil.

"It's a wonderful experience [to coach in England]," he said. "But I cannot betray the essence of what I consider football to be.

"They invented football and have a style and culture of football that is not necessarily the idea that we have right now in Spain."