Former Essendon coach Brad Scott has broken his silence after being sacked by the club on Tuesday despite his contract lasting until the end of 2027.
Scott did his first interview, since the news broke, on Seven's The Agenda Setters on Tuesday night saying that he was "surprised" by his sacking.
The 50-year-old also revealed that he did not agree with the Bombers' controversial decision to retain star Zach Merrett last trade period when the then-captain wanted out of the club.
"That was a club decision to retain Zach," Scott said on The Agenda Setters.
"My view was that Zach had given incredible service to the Essendon Football Club. He had been through multiple strategies, multiple coaches, been made promises on multiple occasions.
"My view was always, you invest in the team and you put the team first and Zach found that really hard to do at the end of last year and I felt for him and for his family.
"I didn't think he was being selfish, I felt like he had been promised things over and over again and he was at his wits end and he couldn't invest in the team anymore. He certainly does through his actions on field.
"My view was we should let him go, but the club's view was we should keep him. So again, my view is what the club's view is and I front that."
Scott revealed he was meant to tell players at the club on Tuesday morning that he was leaving the club, but a leak had disrupted him and the club's plans.
"Unfortunately, I have come to expect (leaks) a little bit," he said. "It has been a challenge at Essendon over the journey. The frustrating thing about this was I spoke to Andrew last night, we were going to catch up at 7:30 this morning.
"We were going to hold a tight (meeting), there were only eight people that knew plus media manager, then I would get the opportunity to speak to the players. But at 7:30 in the morning the players already knew because everyone knew. It made it untenable to go to the club and speak to the players. That will have to come a bit later."
Speculation had also grown that assistant coach Dean Solomon and Scott had a strained relationship, with the former now the interim coach of the club for the remainder of the season.
However, Scott disputed that claim saying he and Solomon had a good working relationship.
"We get along really well," he said.
"As I said he is a high-character, high-quality person. There is no question about that and he is a rock-solid Essendon person."
