Departing Titans mentor John Cartwright says he cannot see himself coaching against the club he helped build.
Cartwright fronted the press for the final time after his side went down 26-18 to the Roosters in a dour contest on Monday night, having resigned from his post early last week.
The 49-year-old is the only coach the Titans have ever known, and was instrumental in getting the club off the ground in 2007, but with the loss to the premiers now making it mathematically impossible for the Gold Coast to make the finals for a fourth successive season the former Panthers back-rower concedes it was time to step aside.
Having presided over his final game, Cartwright admits he would find it tough to come up against the Titans having spent the last eight years carrying their clipboard.
"I wouldn't want to, no," Cartwright said, while also acknowledging he had struggled throughout the lead-up to his final match in charge.
"It has become a part of me and I'm not going to make any decisions.
"It's been a hard week, I'll be honest with you. Not with the team but in your quiet times when you're on your own.
"The week's been all about the preparation [for the game].
"I haven't even thought about what I'll do tomorrow or where I'll be. That was the last thing on my mind, it was just about getting ready for the game and hopefully getting a win. It wasn't meant to be tonight."
Skipper Greg Bird admitted the Titans had failed to control their emotions throughout the match, in which they were held scoreless during the second half having led 18-16 at the break.
"There was a lot of desire and effort going into it," Bird said.
"But like some of the other games this year, we probably don't handle the frustration; we lose our composure a bit when calls go against us.
"It's disappointing but it's something that we have to address for the rest of the year."
Cartwright was also left lamenting a pattern that has become all too familiar for the Titans in 2014, with 11 errors and a penalty count that read 7-3 against them giving the Roosters too many opportunities.
"Like the majority of the year we've tested most sides but when it came to the crunch we probably just didn't play well enough," Cartwright said.
"We dropped some ball, and gave them a lot of field position. And they're the premiers and they took advantage of it."
