Matjaž Kopitar has stepped down from his role as head coach of the Slovenian Ice Hockey team, saying he cannot give the job "100 percent" of his time ©IIHF

The Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia (IHFS) are looking for a new head coach as Matjaž Kopitar, who was only unveiled as their main man in June, has revealed he is unable to take up the role.

Talks began between the two sides, with Kopitar already having been offered a job at National Hockey League club Los Angeles Kings as their main scout in Europe.

Kopitar, who has already been head coach of Slovenia once before, during the 2010-2011 season, claimed he did not initially see the clash as an issue.

Following further talks with the Kings, however, he has decided he would not be able to offer the Slovenian national team "100 per cent" of his time.

"When the leadership of the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia contacted me to return as head coach of the national hockey team and after the first talks, it seemed there would be no major problem with the conclusion of the new cooperation," he said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, later, after my visit to Los Angeles, it turned out that I would not be able to get involved with the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia.

"I already received the job proposal from the LA Kings organisation before.

"After the conversation with the leadership of the LA Kings we found out that my workload would be quite extensive.

"This would prevent me from doing my job as coach of the team because I would not be able to offer to the national team 100 per cent of work and dedication."

Matjaž Kopitar has quit as the Slovenian head coach because he has already accepted a job as a scout for the National Hockey League side the Los Angeles Kings ©Getty Images
Matjaž Kopitar has quit as the Slovenian head coach because he has already accepted a job as a scout for the National Hockey League side the Los Angeles Kings ©Getty Images

Kopitar continued that if he himself was not able to offer all of his time and effort, he would not be able to ask his players to do the same.

"That’s why the decision is difficult but it’s better to turn a new page now and thoroughly rather than finding out later that my assignment is simply not compatible," he said.

"The new team management and the boys I want to wish luck for the new challenges ahead of them."

Kopitar's son, Anže, is captain of the LA Kings having become the first Slovenian to play in the NHL after joining them in 2006. 

He played for Slovenia at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. 

In response the IHFS have said they "regret" that Kopitar will not be able to take up his role and that they will start looking for a new coach as soon as possible.

Last year Slovenia just missed out on promotion to the top level of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Ice Hockey World Championship.

This coming season they will aim for promotion again, when they play Belarus, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Lithuania in the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships Division 1 Group A.