Preki lasted just 24 league games as coach for Toronto FC. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Preki isn't much interested in coaching the Canadian national soccer team one day, judging by his first public comments since being dismissed Tuesday as Toronto FC coach.

Preki, who was fired after less than a season with the club, spoke to ESPN.com soccer reporter Jeff Carlisle on Wednesday.

The coach, born Predrag Radosavljević, got Toronto off to a good start through May, but the club has skidded badly since. Key players Julian de Guzman and Dwayne de Rosario admitted after the firing that players weren't always on the same page with Preki, who was not the most popular of guys.

"I don't need to elaborate on the things that De Rosario and De Guzman said," Preki told Carlisle. "You can see the work I've done with Chivas USA. It's a couple of Canadian guys making those comments. That's all I have to say about that."

General manager Mo Johnston hired Preki last November after his three-year stint with Chivas, which included a coach of the year award for the Serb in 2007. Preki and Johnston were teammates on Everton in the English Premier League, and they won an MLS Cup together with Kansas City in 2000.

On Tuesday, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns Toronto FC, also fired Johnston, the only GM the club has had. Earl Cochrane, administrator of the team's youth program, will replace Johnston on an interim basis.

Toronto went just 1-6-2 in its last nine games with Preki at the helm, which put the club five points out of an MLS playoff spot with six games remaining. The Reds are on track to miss the playoffs in their first four years in the league after scoring just once in the last six league games.

Preki was at the helm as the Reds successfully made it to the CONCACAF Champions League group stage this season, but under interim coach Nick Dasovic, the squad was drubbed 4-1 by Real Salt Lake in Group A play on Wednesday.

Dasovic is the fifth to man the sidelines for the franchise since its debut in 2007.

Preki, when asked by ESPN about his reputation as a disciplinarian, seemed to suggest Toronto FC needs to improve its work ethic.

"I just think that if you come in every day and you ask for commitment and hard work, that's not too much to ask for," he said. "That's the bottom line."