Murray weighed up his options after United announced it was advertising its coaching role last month and decided not to put his hat back in the ring.
He accepts the board's decision but feels the team was slowly heading in the right direction and believes he had plans to help it punch above its weight in the national league.
''I asked the board for another year but they decided performance and results weren't up to scratch,'' Murray said yesterday.
''I'd outlined what I wanted to put in place. Considering other factors we've had to deal with, I thought we were starting to go in the right direction.
''The board knew what I wanted to do. And I felt it showed a lack of support that they didn't offer me another year. I'm quite disillusioned about that.''
Murray's two seasons in charge resulted in just five wins from 28 games.
He accepts the results were poor but maintains Otago's performances had lifted, and results would have improved next season if he had a chance to keep developing players, and sign other players who were keen to come back.
''A lot has happened. As a group, the coaches took on a lot. No-one wanted the job and we had to deal with stuff that wasn't ideal.
''Things like turning up to training and finding rugby posts, or no posts. No ground markings. Getting moved all over the place.
''Financially, we're up against it as well. We're so reliant on funding and if we miss out on even a small amount, it has a massive impact.
''I tried to put out a side each week that would be competitive. We weren't that far away from knocking some of the big teams off.
''We also built up the youth team, to the point it made the final.
''I feel we've moved the franchise forward, so it was disheartening to hear the board wasn't happy.''
Murray said some of his players were frustrated with various training issues, including not being able to properly prepare for games due to a lack of numbers. But he believed his relationship with the players was solid, as was his relationship with United chairman Phil Cunningham.
He believed Otago's best approach in a lopsided league was to focus on developing players and be patient.
''You're not going to build a team overnight. You need three to five years before you start to see results.
''We don't have a huge player base. We had no imports, so we had to build from our own youth ranks. I felt we were doing that well.
''It's a bit short-sighted to say we want results now.''
Murray had stepped down from coaching his Caversham club, with the idea he would be working on Otago United business over the winter. He was playing for the Caversham reserves, and helping with some coaching. Some sort of youth coaching role would appeal, he said.
United assistant Andy Duncan had already signalled his intention to step down. Murray had ''heard nothing'' about who might coach United next season.
Cunningham said the franchise was in the middle of the interview process for the coaching role. There had been a ''pretty good'' response and he hoped an appointment would be made by the end of the month.
