By Simon Austin

Eleven months ago, Marcelo Loffreda was embarking on a new life with his wife and five children in Leicester.

Loffreda was sacked in June, after just seven months at Leicester

Having led Argentina to third place at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he was about to start a two-and-a-half year contract as director of rugby at England's biggest club.

Now the 48-year-old is back in Buenos Aires, unpacking his possessions from a shipping container, looking for a new house and helping his son and four daughters settle back into Argentine schools.

"Everything is a mess when you get back to a place and have to settle in again," he says.

"If I had been alone, it would have been no problem, but with five children and my wife moving to the other side of the world and back again, it's been hard.

"They were just getting used to Leicester. It was hard for the kids at the beginning, to get into school and meet friends, but they got used to it and were happy. Now they've been uprooted again and it's tough on them."

Loffreda was sacked by Leicester in June, less than eight months after arriving at Welford Road.

The season had been a disappointment by the club's ferociously high standards, with the team crashing out of the Heineken Cup in the group stages and being soundly beaten by the Ospreys in the final of the EDF Energy Cup.

Leicester have very high expectations and are always in a rush to win trophies Marcelo Loffreda

Yet the Tigers did reach the Guinness Premiership play-off final, where they lost to Wasps, and Loffreda had always expected his first season in England to be difficult in any case.

Argentina's stirring run to the World Cup semi-finals meant he missed the first three months of the season, his English was poor, he had never coached a professional side before and had no working knowledge of the club game.

"I had meetings with the club before signing my contract, before the World Cup, and they knew my situation and experience," he says.

And it's this lack of faith and patience that still rankles.

"I know the professional game is about winning trophies, especially for a big club like Leicester," he says, "but sometimes you need to be patient, you need to give someone time to adjust.

"Well, I had only eight months, not even a season, before my contract was terminated.

606: DEBATE Was Loffreda treated fairly by the Tigers? BBC Sport's Simon Austin

"I was disappointed, because I didn't have enough time to learn and adjust. Leicester have very high expectations and are always in a rush to win trophies."

Loffreda admits his first couple of months at the Midlands club were the hardest of his rugby life.

"It was really tough at the start, because I didn't really know what it was all about, and I felt very alone at the club," he says.

"Language was a barrier and my thoughts weren't always said in the right way. The professional game is also very different from the amateur game.

"I learnt more in my time at Leicester than I probably had in five years in the amateur game."

When Loffreda was sacked, chairman Peter Tom said it had been the manner of Leicester's defeats, rather than the losses themselves, that had cost the Argentine his job.

Tom also revealed that senior players and coaches had been consulted before the decision was made.

During the season, there were reports of internal disputes about the team's playing style, and even of coaches undermining Loffreda.

Although he is unwilling to comment on such issues while negotiations over his compensation package continue, Loffreda admits he will bring his own coaching staff with him if he gets another club job.

"I would bring my own coaching team - that is something I have learned very, very strongly," he says.

Loffreda missed the first three months of Leicester's season while he was at the World Cup

"If I have another opportunity, I will do it with my own team. It doesn't mean I'm going to bring Argentines, but I need to have people in my confidence.

"I have many friends in different countries - in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France and England - and I would need to bring some of them. I need to have confidence in my coaches."

Despite his experience at Leicester, Loffreda is still eager to work in the Guinness Premiership and his agent, who is based in England, is trying to find him another club job.

After eight testing months at Welford Road, he believes he is a far better coach than when he arrived in England.

His English is now fluent and he has in-depth knowledge of professional club rugby.

And despite the controversial circumstances of his departure, Loffreda has fond memories of his time at Welford Road.

"I really enjoyed working with the players - they were never a problem for me," he says.

"It was an honour to work with Martin Corry - he is a fine player and an absolute gentleman. Geordan Murphy is a great man and an outstanding player, so are Harry Ellis and Ben Kay, the list goes on.

"I worked very hard with Andy Goode on his game and he had words of praise for me, which I really appreciated."

But it was the support of the club's fans that really sticks with him. Within hours of his departure being announced, thousands of supporters had gone onto an online forum to protest about his sacking, with many even threatening to return their season tickets.

"That was amazing for me, really surprising," he says. "I never used to look at the supporters' pages, but that time I did, and the support from the fans was incredible.

"I don't have regrets about my time at Leicester, because I worked very hard and was always very serious in my work.

"I don't want to fight with anyone there. I just think I should have been given more time."