Raymond Verheijen's often controversial spell with the Wales national side has come to an end after the Football Association of Wales announced that they had accepted his resignation.

The outspoken Dutchman, brought into the national set-up as assistant manager under the late Gary Speed, had been due to be part of the managerial team for next week's friendly against Costa Rica, a game being held in Speed's honour.

But Verheijen, whose position had been uncertain following the appointment of Chris Coleman as Speed's successor last month, has elected to resign from his post, accusing the FAW of "political and destructive games" in messages on his Twitter site.

Shortly after that post the FAW released a statement that read: "The Football Association of Wales (FAW) wishes to announce that it has received the resignation of Raymond Verheijen.

"Raymond was the assistant manager to Gary Speed with the Wales national.

"The FAW accepts the resignation with regret, as Raymond was due to assist the Wales squad this week with the match against Costa Rica, a game being staged in honour of the Wales manager who tragically left us in November of last year.

"In light of the forthcoming match, and the sensitivities of it, the FAW has no further comment to make at this time.

"The FAW would like to take the opportunity to thank Raymond for his work over the last 12 months and wishes him well for the future."

Verhiejen's Twitter messages had read: "Earlier today [Thursday] I have informed the FAW I will resign. Have (had) enough of their political & destructive games. Very sad day.

"Very proud to be part of FIFA's most improved team in 2011. Would like to thank the players and fans for an amazing journey."

Verheijen, 40, who will not be replaced, had previously worked with the Dutch, South Korean and Russian national sides.

He was seen as a key figure in the improvement of Welsh fortunes under Speed, and was popular with senior players such as captain Aaron Ramsey and Craig Bellamy, who is considering his international future.

The Dragons won four of their last five games before Speed's death in November, a run which helped them rise from a low of 117th in the FIFA world rankings into the top 50, making them the highest climbers of 2011.

Coleman, who has brought his former Fulham team-mate Kit Symons in as his assistant manager, had held talks with Verheijen and Osian Roberts, who also worked under Speed, to see if they could work together.

And although no definite decision had been made on Verheijen's long-term future, it was seen as an encouraging sign that the new man was happy to take a background role to Speed's lieutenants against Costa Rica, with Roberts stating earlier this week that he felt the quartet could be a good team.

But tonight's developments end that possibility, with Coleman, Symons and Roberts set to lead preparations for Wednesday's friendly.

While Verheijen's abilities as a coach were highly-rated by players, supporters and media alike, he also caused his fair share of controversy during his time in the Wales set-up.

In the wake of Speed's death he suggested that the FAW should leave the running of the team to himself and Roberts, claiming such a move would have been in line with Speed's wishes, which provoked a furious reaction in some quarters.

He also suggested the appointment of a "figurehead" to succeed Speed, again leaving he and Roberts to do the majority of the hands-on coaching.

And it was noticeable that when Coleman was appointed, FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford made it clear that the former Fulham boss was in no-way such an appointment.

Coleman had always said he planned to take a background role for the meeting with Costa Rica, but Verheijen claimed that he had not been informed of the decision.

He had tweeted on Monday: "Very surprised to hear from journalists I will be in charge of Wales vs Costa Rica game next week. Nobody of FAW has informed me about this."

He also alleged the association had ``sacked'' team operations manager Adrian Davies and not invited him to next week's match, something the FAW denied.