Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has confirmed he will step down from his post after the 2010 World Cup.
Croatia boss plans move into club management
Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has confirmed he will step down from his post when his contract expires after the 2010 World Cup.
Bilic, still reeling from the 4-1 Zagreb defeat at the hands of England in a qualifier for the tournament in South Africa, then plans to move into club management.
The former West Ham and Everton defender was linked with the managerial vacancy at Upton Park before the appointment of Gianfranco Zola.
He has also been mentioned as a possible successor to Kevin Keegan at Newcastle, although the club's current turmoil will clearly take some time to unravel.
Certain
Bilic claims he was offered the chance to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson at Manchester City, but has always stated his desire to remain at the helm of the national side for the next two years.
He told
Sportske Novosti: "Only one thing is certain, after 2010, I will not be (Croatia) coach any more.
"Then I will review clubs' offers.
"It is true that I had great offers from big European clubs, like HSV Hamburg. There were also offers of Manchester City, when Eriksson left, while everyone knows about West Ham.
"I did not regret for a second that I have remained the national coach. However, if I would feel that fans do not believe in our project anymore, I would step down sooner."
Fall apart
Bilic admitted his frustration at the way his side capitulated against a Theo Walcott-inspired England last week, even though they were reduced to 10 men early in the second half following the dismissal of Robert Kovac.
He added: "I was not so exasperated by the defeat, which is a part of sport, but rather by the fact that in the last third of the match we appeared as if we had four players less.
"I told the players, we can be defeated - but our game cannot fall apart in such a way."
Croatia and England are in World Cup qualifying Group 6, along with Andorra, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
