TONY Popovic insists the opportunity to coach in Europe was one he couldn’t turn down, after stunning Western Sydney Wanderers by walking out on the eve of the new season.

Dropping an A-League bombshell after five years at the club, Popovic admitted the timing of his exit to coach Karabukspor in Turkey “wasn’t ideal”, but said his “instinct” had forced him to accept the offer.

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media_camera Popovic admitted even he is “uneasy” with his decision. (AAP Image/Sam Mooy)

On a chaotic day for the club, The Daily Telegraph’s revelation that Popovic had quit came before the players had even been told in person by him. With assistant coaches Andres Carasco and Zeljko Kalac believed to want to go with Popovic to Turkey, Western Sydney will delay naming an interim head coach until that has been clarified.

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Who would have thought? Took this photo of WSW coach Tony Popovic & CEO John Tsatsimas at season launch yesterday.Poppa now going to Turkey? pic.twitter.com/5sCFXWZieB — Andy Paschalidis (@AndyPaschalidis) October 1, 2017

Wanderers CEO John Tsatsimas said the club was still getting to grips with the exit of the club’s only head coach, but would not rush into choosing a successor. Academy head Ian Crook, briefly Sydney FC’s head coach, is a likely candidate to take the reins while a long-term appointment is made.

But Tsatsimas couldn’t hide his emotion at Popovic’s departure while the coach himself admitted he felt “uneasy” in his stomach at leaving the club he helped to build. Asked if he felt the fans would feel angry at the manner of his departure, Popovic said his record of service should mitigate that.

media_camera The former Socceroo has been with the club since the beginning.

“This isn’t great timing,” he said. “We’ve had 14 or 15 weeks of pre-season and we’re in a position to challenge for the title. But this came up last night and today, it certainly wasn’t planned. It was something I felt was very difficult to turn down.

“Sitting here next to John, even now that I’ve told him I have an uneasy feeling in my stomach. But I know I’ve played my part in building this club. I came here for the right reasons, my instinct told me to leave a good job at Crystal Palace and my instinct now is to take this opportunity.

“The fans here will have different views but for five years I’ve given my heart and soul to the club, they know that. No one ideally would leave the week before the season but it’s happened this way.

“It’s an opportunity to get my foot in the door in Europe, in a big competition, and the chance to coach against some very big teams that play in the Champions League. I’ve had offers to coach in Asia but Europe was always my aim.”

His new club is third from bottom of the Turkish Supa Liga, having won just one game in seven this season. But having turned down a succession of offers from Asia and England, Popovic has decided to seek a new challenge after five seasons at the Wanderers.

It throws Western Sydney’s hopes for the new season into chaos, and comes ironically after Popovic had hailed the recruitment and planning that he said had given the club its most settled pre-season.

The club will have to move quickly to find a successor, with Socceroos assistant Ante Milicic — who was Popovic’s No 2 at Western Sydney in the club’s first season — certain to figure prominently in discussions.

Though Popovic had a year to go on his contract, it was always believed that he had a handshake agreement in place with Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer to leave if the right offer came along.

media_camera Fans should remember Popa’s Champions League triumph. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

“Our members can be assured we’ll do all the due diligence to find the right man for this job,” said Tsatsimas. “We’ve already been inundated with interest.

“The people of Western Sydney need to know this is a robust organisation from the chairman down, and we’ll do everything we can to ensure this season is a success.”

His decision means Popovic leaves the A-League without having won the championship, despite having steered the club to the grand final three times. Remarkably Western Sydney won the Premier’s Plate in their first season, and a year later in 2014 stunned Asian football by winning the Champions League.

But defeats in the grand finals of 2013, 2014 and 2016 had seemingly left Popovic determined to win the outstanding title, with a squad this season that on paper appeared better equipped than ever.