Three questions Wayne Bennett asked Graham Arnold that convinced him to quit Socceroos

Graham Arnold says a chat with legendary coach Wayne Bennett allowed him to confront his true feelings about moving on from the Socceroos head coaching role.

Arnold resigned from the position last week after taking over the job in 2018, with Tony Popovic named as his successor.

The former striker said he'd been feeling flat in the role for some time but his decision became clearer after the Socceroos lost 1-0 to Bahrain on the Gold Coast in World Cup qualifying.

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Arnold, 61, picked up the phone and rang long time friend Bennett after the shock home loss.

"I've got a great relationship with Wayne and I always have," Arnold told Fox Sports.

"I spoke to him straight after the Bahrain game, because I've been feeling this way not just for one-game, I've been feeling this way for a number of months.

"He just asked me three questions, and he made it very simple.

"The first question was; 'when you wake up in the morning are you excited to go to meetings and on the training pitch?' I said, 'no'.

"'When you look into the players eyes what do you see? You can see in the players' eyes if they're really switched on, if they're focused'. I said 'no, I don't think they are'.

"The last thing he said to me was; 'if you had a lemon and you squeezed the lemon, is there any juice left in it?' I said, 'no'.

"He said, you've answered your own questions and all the best."

The former Socceroos coach and striker said he has no regrets about leaving the position, following a chat with Football Australia CEO James Johnson.

"Everyone thinks it was a difficult decision, but it was quite easy," he said.

"I always put the nation first, the team first, and myself last, and I just felt that probably ever since the loss in the Asian Cup, I haven't felt the same.

"The stomach was telling me, the gut was telling me, it was time to leave.

"I feel great. I have no regrets at all."

Arnold said his decision to quit was similar to the exit of Ange Postecoglou in 2017, who left the job before the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia because "you get worn out from the game here in Australia."

"I'll have a bit of a break but I'd like to go on a new journey," Arnold said. "I've done a lot for Australian football, been involved for 40 years and given everything I've got.

"It would be nice to go on a new journey. I never had any [offers] before the decision but I just need a few weeks off because for six years it's been [work] every day."