Zenit St Petersburg manager Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he will leave the club at the end of the season.
The 37-year-old took charge of the Russian side in March 2014 and led them to the league title in his first full campaign at the helm.
Villas-Boas was linked with a move away during the summer but the Portuguese coach, who is currently serving a six-match ban for striking an official, has revealed that the Zenit hierarchy refused to let him resign.
"Talking about a contract extension, when we last met with you I said that the club had made me an offer at the end of last season, I have refused and at the end of the season I will leave the club," he told Zenit's official website.
"But in any case we will continue to work hard, we need to score points, to catch up with those ahead of us, to try to perform successfully in the Champions League.
"It is clear that we did not carry out any activity in the transfer market, which was expected, there wasn't a lot of choice out there, but anyway we tried our best, although it is obvious that no reinforcements came, except for those players that moved early in the transfer window."
Villas-Boas has also managed Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur during his career.
Steven Toplis
