Carlo Ancelotti said Bayern Munich "did not want to change things" after encountering a "philosophy problem" during his time at the Bundesliga champions.
Ancelotti – now in charge of Serie A outfit Napoli – was sacked by Bayern in September last year following the club's Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The 59-year-old Italian won the Bundesliga in his first season after replacing Pep Guardiola but he was soon out the door as a group of players turned against him in the wake of a 3-0 loss to PSG.
Reflecting on his spell in Munich, Ancelotti told DAZN: "The experience at Bayern was a bit unusual.
"Things weren't going badly, we'd won almost all of the games in September.
"I think there was more of a philosophy problem: they didn't want to change things. I did."
Ancelotti has since taken charge of Napoli following Maurizio Sarri's move to Premier League side Chelsea.
Napoli, who finished runners-up to Juventus last season, have won their opening two Serie A fixtures under Ancelotti – coming from behind to beat Lazio and AC Milan.
"You always have to take into account what has been done, as well as the level of the players, then of course every coach has his own ideas," Ancelotti said.
"You need to try to implement them gradually, without throwing away the good things that were done in the past. The most important thing is to consider the characteristics of the players: that's what you model the system on, not vice-versa.
"The first thing I wanted to work on here at Napoli was exactly that: not to take away all that was good about this team.
"We're trying to add a few twists, like how to play more directly and more open. I don't know how long it'll take, we hope to do well quickly."
