Heyneke Meyer has revealed that family matters forced his resignation as Leicester's coach because he could no longer give the club "100%" commitment.

Meyer returned to South Africa after only 26 weeks with the Tigers due to the ill-health of his parents-in-law and last week the club announced he would not be returning to Welford Road. The Super 14 winning coach finally broke his silence over his decision to quit in the Afrikaans newspaper Sondag on Sunday.

"Leicester is a great club and we had just started with a big vision. We had just started down a path but I always said that, if a player cannot give me 100% effort, 100% of the time, then he can't play for me. The same principle counts for me. I could not focus 100% on my coaching there and I needed to make a decision. It was a difficult one to make because I had an unbelievable time coaching there," Meyer said.

The 41-year-old Meyer said he was confident the Tigers would seal a semi-final place in the Heineken Cup and remain in contention in the Guinness Premiership. "They've already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup and they will do well because they are on the right road. And they are also placed well in the Premiership."

Meyer has been linked with a number of coaching roles back in South Africa, where his record with the Blue Bulls was top-class. "If I can serve rugby in any way going forward, it would be an honour to do so. I am at the age where I want to give something back to the country and the sport. There have been a number of offers but it was a difficult decision to come back and I don't want to make any hasty decisions," Meyer said.

For now his and his wife's focus is on ensuring her parents can overcome their serious illnesses.