Roland Butcher remains interested in coaching Bermuda despite having resigned from the post of national coach less than a week ago.

Speaking from his home in England for the first time since official word of his departure was received, the former Middlesex and England batsman said that there was nothing he wanted more than to coach and construct a development programme for the Island.

Talk of him lacking commitment was not an accurate representation of him as a man or coach, he insisted. And Butcher pointed a finger at the media for fostering negative views based on speculation.

"A lot was said before that (resignation) and one thing I am not particularly happy about is the image that has been portrayed to the people of Bermuda that here is someone that is not interested in the position, someone who just disappears when he wants to, which could not be further from the truth,'' said Butcher, who left Bermuda the weekend of April 21, apparently to give evidence in a court case after spending just three weeks coaching Bermuda's ICC Trophy squad.

"I know what you're saying (about the continued absence) and basically the situation has been that, due to circumstances out of my control, I have had to be here in England. And really there's not been anything more that I would have wanted, or would want to do even now, than to actually be in Bermuda working with the team.

"I mean this is something that I've been planning to do for a long time. And to be back here in UK is literally destroying me, because all I wanted to do was really to be with the team, trying to help them qualify, because I seriously believe that they can not just qualify, but win the competition.'' The Barbadian-born Englishman was adamant that he had not been forced into ending his tenure, instead reiterating how unforeseen developments had forced his hand.

And it was not an easy thing for him to do, he said, having had his heart set on guiding Bermuda to success in Canada, as well as laying the groundwork for further prosperity through the institution of a developmental programme.

"Not at all, the Board did not force me in any way to do this,'' said Butcher. "The resignation was my own simply because I just could not give the team what they deserve.

"I'm also looking forward to develop the cause of Bermuda over the next three years, so to have to actually resign is perhaps the hardest thing I've had to do in my whole life.

"And the reason I've done that is, like I said, my hands are tied here at the moment and I can't be there and I could not really give the team or the Board 100 percent if I'm not there, so that was the reason for that.'' However, asked of the court case, Butcher would still not reveal the exact nature of the legal wranglings. But he did admit the ongoing proceedings to have adversely affected his availability over the past months.

Butcher: `I want my job back' From Page 19 Also alluded to was the fact that he had to totally uproot from his home in order to come to Bermuda and this took time, with him having to make several arrangements in terms of his family, business and other assets.

And he compared his situation with that of England soccer coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who did not take up the post for several months after he was initially contracted.

"Obviously that's (court case) affected the situation in that I've had to be here at certain times and at other times I'm not required, but in a couple of weeks that will be all over and then I'm a free agent as such,'' he said. ". .. my hands were totally tied here, it wasn't a case of me wanting to be here, it was a case of I had to be here. If it was my decision I would be in Bermuda, there's no doubt about that.

"Obviously I wanted to be in Bermuda a lot earlier, but you must appreciate there were a lot of arrangements I had to make here in England as well, a tremendous amount of arrangements.

"It's not unusual for people to be in a post and not take the post up until a certain time. You've only got to look here at the situation with the England football manager. He got the post and was not going to be in position until over a year later, so it's not an unusual situation.'' As far as his feelings towards the people of Bermuda, the Board, and the players, Butcher held no grudge ... though the media was viewed in a tarnished light.

"The Board have been fantastic to me, the players have been tremendous the way they responded, I thought I had a good working relationship with them, the people of Bermuda I do not have a problem with ... I love the place and would be there tomorrow morning.

"What I'm a little bit bitter about is the negative things that people have actually written, especially about me, that is what I'm disappointed with, because I don't think I was treated fairly in that sense. People have just speculated, haven't been totally fair, and really they've given the people of Bermuda the wrong impression, and I can imagine people thinking that here is someone who doesn't care about Bermuda cricket and does what he wants to do, and anybody who knows me will tell you that is not me.'' Roland Butcher: "I just could not give the team what they deserve.''