Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson has played coy on the decision of the club to sack head coach John Spencer this week.
The Scotsman was given the flick on Monday, just one-and-a-half-years in to Portland being a MLS club, but a slightly embarrassed Paulson says it was not purely a decision based on results.
"There is egg on my face in making this decision so soon into our MLS existence," Paulson said. "No question about it.
"I don't know if he was surprised by (the decision). This was not a results-driven decision (based) on any one game.
"I'm not going to go into details. But we have been having candid discussions with John about concerns for some time."