Harry Redknapp has told BBC Sport that he resigned suddenly as manager of QPR in February because he "no longer knew who was on my side" at Loftus Road.
Redknapp cited crippling knee problems as the primary reasons for his decision to leave Rangers, who were second from bottom in the Premier League table.
But he has now revealed that was not the only issue.
In an interview with Football Focus, the 68-year-old said the club had descended into a "soap opera".
"I always thought I had everyone pulling with me and suddenly I felt some were and some weren't. Behind the scenes, I always thought there were one or two people with their own agendas," he said.
In a wide-ranging interview at his home in Poole, Redknapp says:
- He thought he was a certainty for the England job
- England are good enough to win Euro 2016
- Harry Kane is in the perfect place to develop
- The pain and responsibility of losing was huge
Redknapp is undergoing rehabilitation on his knees and can now walk and stand without pain but the former Tottenham and Portsmouth manager admitted to being "worn down" by incessant rumours around his position as manager at Loftus Road.
He said: "There was talk about Tim Sherwood coming in. QPR was in the paper every day. I've been at lots of other clubs, big clubs as well where you didn't get that.
"That got on my nerves. That was the big problem for me," he added. "As soon as we lost a few games it would begin. I always thought there was someone mischievous causing it. I'd never had that before at any club I'd been at.
"All the years I have managed, seven years at West Ham, 10 years nearly at Bournemouth, Tottenham for four years. No-one ever said I was going to get the sack by Sunday.
"The chairman Tony Fernandes always said there was never anything in it and it was always denied, but I thought it was always very disrespectful.
"I didn't see the teams below us getting the same sort of headlines every other week. It wore me down a little bit."
Academy coach Chris Ramsey took over as boss until the end of the season in February and the Hoops are now two points off safety in the table.
I would have hated England's 'office job'
Redknapp was overlooked for the England manager's job when Fabio Capello quit in February 2012. Roy Hodgson was then appointed boss in May that year.
"I thought it was a certainty in all honesty. I'd be a liar if I sat here and said anything else. Even Roy thought I was a certainty. All the word coming back from the League Managers' Association and everybody else was that 'Roy knows you're going to get the job, there's only you and Roy'.
"I was 10-1, Roy was 8-1, but it didn't happen and that's life and I didn't lose any sleep over it.
"I think maybe Roy was more suited to the job than I was. Maybe he was more suited in going to St George's Park and spending more time with the FA.
"I always think he is perhaps more organised than me in that respect. He's a top-class manager without a doubt.
"I thought he would spend more time in the office than I would, I'd have hated that. Going up to Soho or wherever the offices are, going to St George's Park wasn't for me. I could have managed England but I couldn't sit in an office and say I'd win a tournament."
'England can win Euro 2016'
"I like Roy. He's a good man, a good manager, with fantastic young players. We've got to produce in that tournament so let's go and win the Euros, why can't we?
"We've got players better than most of the other nations, the Dutch, the Italians, French although Germany are a big threat."
Harry on Harry - 'Kane's no Billy big time'
"He has stepped up this year to a different level. He's well managed. I like the manager at Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino, he's a good manager and a lovely guy. He's well looked after and in good hands.
"He's not a kid who's going to get carried away. He's not a Billy big time. He'll get on with it, he'll keep practicing, keep working at his game and keep improving. He's level headed and is the type of kid you love to see be successful."
Deadline day - 'I didn't drive the chairman mad'
Redknapp insisted he had not fallen out with chairman Tony Fernandes because of the club's lack of business in the January transfer window.
QPR missed out on the signing of Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor on deadline day and Redknapp claimed it was himself who pulled out of the deal.
"I was trying to sign him but it all got too expensive. I said to Tony, don't in the end, 'it's too expensive, let's forget about it and move on'. It wasn't going to work out so we didn't really chase anybody.
"I didn't drive Tony mad to make a signing. He was trying harder than I was in the end. I just thought we needed another striker."
The pain of losing
"I didn't want to go outside. I just didn't want to be with anybody, I just really wanted to shut myself off. It's a silly feeling.
"I know it's only a football match but you feel responsible. It's different when you're a player - you play, you get down after a bit but you're one of the team. As manager you feel responsible for all the fans going to work, their weekend, their team losing. It's all on your shoulders. It's difficult at times."
