However, he was convinced to return for another season in June, but threw the towel in after the 2-2 draw with West Ham at the weekend.
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Advocaat spoke to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf and he said that while he enjoyed the experience of coaching in the Premier League he didn’t believe he was the right man for a season in the drop zone.
Advocaat was expected to retire at the end of last season having been brought in to successfully save Sunderland from relegation.
Asked if Advocaat’s heart was in it, Neville said: “I don’t think so”.
Sunderland chairman Ellis Short will now be searching for his eighth permanent manager since he took control of the club in 2008.
However, the former Netherlands, South Korea and Russian Federation boss parted company with the North-East club on Sunday after a winless start to the Premier League season.
Big Sam, who was once a contender for the job of England manager, spent an unsuccessful eight months in charge of Sunderland’s fierce rivals Newcastle and his appointment would be greeted with much disgruntlement among the Sunderland fans. I became negative and that didn’t feel like myself. I was doing nothing else.
Advocaat’s departure has created a vacancy Sunderland need to fill as quickly as possible, with first team coach Paul Bracewell and senior professional development coach Robbie Stockdale now looking after those players not away on global duty.
The American faces a huge challenge on his hands as reports suggest that sporting director Lee Congerton will be following Advocaat out of the Stadium of Light, due to his frustration with a lack of funds for transfer over the summer.
“Our squad was simply not good enough”, he said. However, he has been told to remain at the club to recruit a new manager.
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And while Advocaat stopped short of criticising Short, he conceded a figure of how much they had to spend was never given.
