Vandenbroeck, who arrived in Zambia in June 2018, was handed an eight-month contract subject to renewal if Chipolopolo qualified for this year's Africa Cup of Nations.

That target was missed which means this month's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at home to Namibia will now officially be his last match as Zambia coach.

Vandenbroeck, 39, may not even be on the bench for the fixture after being sent on administrative leave after falling out with the Football Association of Zambia (Faz).

But the Belgian says the past eight months have not been a waste.

"My stay in the country has been positive. I have to admit that in terms of facilities, the country is much more improved compared to other countries on the continent," Vandenbroeck told BBC Sport.

"I would have liked to explore the country more than I did but because of work, I never had the chance to travel for holidays so maybe after my work is done I can have a few days," he added.

Although the Zambian FA announced it would not renew Vandenbroeck's contract, he insists he had already resigned but then offered to see out his contract with the 2012 African champions, after a stint which brought one victory, a draw and two defeats in four competitive Group K matches.

"On the football side it was tough, especially because the landscape or the environment was a bit divided," Vandenbroeck said.

"It's very political; it's based on status, on self-protection - not too much of taking or making responsibilities so you always have to manage a lot of things.

"It was tough to find my way through and to find a balance in doing my job as good as possible," the Belgian added.

Vandenbroeck was an assistant coach to Hugo Broos when Cameroon won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017.

With Zambia, he inherited a team that had beaten Algeria in back-to-back World Cup qualifiers, but he says that impressive campaign covered up bigger problems which only came to light during their Nations Cup qualifiers.

He also claims he had to take on the role with no specific handover after replacing Wedson Nyirenda, but refused to blame anyone else for Zambia's failure to qualify for this year's Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

"I don't want to use it as an excuse for not qualifying because the challenge was obvious and we didn't deliver the qualification. I can say the influence from outside had an impact on what was happening on the pitch," he said.

Vandenbroeck says he made no secret of his desire to continue in the job but grew frustrated when two months lapsed with no indication of his future from his employers.