Syracuse, N.Y. ? Greg Robinson’s career as Syracuse coach started poorly and never got better. When he was fired with two games left in a fourth straight dismal season, even he figured it was coming.

“I don’t think it really comes as a surprise to anyone. It doesn’t come as a surprise to me,” Robinson said at a news conference Sunday. “I ran out of time. I still see improvement. As always, I’m optimistic, I think with more time I could do better. Obviously, I didn’t get it done. That’s the bottom line. I understand why the decision was made, so I go from there”

Robinson, who will coach the final two games of this season, is 9-36 overall and 3-25 in the Big East in three-plus seasons. He had another year left on a contract that pays $1.1 million per season.