Dick Advocaat walked out on Sunderland after coming to the conclusion the squad was "not good enough" and acknowledged a relegation scrap was not his "cup of tea."

Advocaat's resignation was confirmed Sunday, 24 hours after his final game of a seven-month tenure ended in a 2-2 draw against West Ham.

The Dutchman has cut a forlorn figure during the Wearsiders' abysmal start to the season — they failed to win any of their opening eight Premier League games — and revealed he had made up his mind to go prior to the weekend.

He told Studio Voetbal: "I already made my decision last week. But the club asked me to do the match versus West Ham, and I really wanted to finish in style. The struggle against relegation is not my cup of tea. I think it was time for someone else to take over at Sunderland. I became negative, and that didn't feel like myself."

Advocaat initially moved to Sunderland in March with the objective of maintaining the club's top-flight status, a task he achieved with a game to spare. Having initially refused the offer of a new deal, he was persuaded to sign a one-year contract after reportedly receiving assurances over the club's summer transfer budget from owner Ellis Short.

While Advocaat stopped short of criticizing Short, he conceded a figure of how much the club had to spend was never given.

He added: "I don't regret signing my new contract, because it was a great experience. Our squad was simply not good enough. The club knew that we had to strengthen, but the chairman never told me how much we could spend."