Friday 1 November 2019 18:46, UK
Hearts caretaker manager Austin MacPhee says the club's players feel shocked and guilty following Craig Levein's sacking yesterday.
Levein was dismissed as Hearts boss with the club currently 11th in the Scottish Premiership, only ahead of St Mirren on goal difference.
Hearts have won once so far in the league this campaign - beating Hibernian 2-1 in the Edinburgh derby - but MacPhee insists the blame should not be solely placed upon Levein, and the players are desperate to put things right on the pitch.
MacPhee said: "I think in any situation like this, the first thing they feel is guilt - all of us do.
"It's the by-product of everybody in the organisation not performing at the levels that they should be - and that was articulated this morning.
"For the supporters, we need to now turn that into something positive and make sure that the team put in the performance on Sunday that shows what the players are capable of."
MacPhee says he was surprised by the timing of Levein's departure as the club saw Sunday''s League Cup semi-final against Rangers this weekend as a crucial game to determine how they would move forward for the remainder of the season - but says the squad will be fully prepared for the trip to Hampden Park.
"I'm confident that we can use the next 48 hours as well as we possibly can to prepare the team to give us the best chance of success in the game," MacPhee said.
"The response from the players this morning was fantastic - a lot of them don't train the second day after a game but they all trained."
MacPhee also says his previous experience of being caretaker manager gives him confidence he could become the long-term manager at Tynecastle but does not feel that this is the right time to discuss getting the job on a full-time basis.
"I just want to give Hearts the best chance of putting in a performance that can win the game against Rangers and those things are for other people to decide," he said.
"I've got over 600 games as an assistant and I know how these things work - I'm just totally focused on making sure the supporters see a team that's organised, has energy and a chance of getting to a cup final."
