Mick Malthouse: 'It's been very difficult [since leaving], very strange.' Photo: Sebastian Costanzo

LIFE after Collingwood has been ''very difficult'', Mick Malthouse has revealed in an exclusive interview with The Age, while he says he has not ruled out the possibility of a return to coaching.

Malthouse also reopens his dispute with Collingwood president Eddie McGuire over the reasons he left the club and speaks expansively about what his life is like now he is no longer at the helm of the Magpies.

''I'd be lying if I didn't say I've found things difficult,'' he says. ''It's been very difficult, very strange.''

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Read the full Malthouse interview in tomorrow's Melbourne Magazine. Free with The Age.

He rejects suggestions he was burnt out when he stepped down. ''There were pressures, but I've been through a lot worse,'' he says.

''I felt very much in control of the situation.''

This puts him at odds with comments by McGuire over events that led to Collingwood's pioneering ''Kirribilli agreement'', which was designed to allow a smooth succession for Nathan Buckley.

Malthouse concedes the landmark deal was struck at a difficult time for his family - his mother was dying and his grandson was undergoing a major operation - but he rejects McGuire's assertion that Malthouse suggested things were getting on top of him in mid-2009, calling it ''incorrect''.

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Tough on the outer