Ashley Williams admits Everton’s players are hurting in the wake of Ronald Koeman’s sacking.
Thursday’s Europa League tie with Lyon sees the Blues needing a minor miracle to help win their remaining Group E games and qualify for the knock-out stages.
Pressure is also mouting in the Premier League, with Sunday’s visit of Watford offering David Unsworth’s side the chance to break out of the relegation zone.
Unsworth revealed he took a decision to leave Wayne Rooney, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines on Merseyside in anticipation of the encounter with the Hornets.
But Williams has lifted the lid on the Goodison Park dressing room’s mood since Koeman was deposed last Monday following an abject start to the season.
He said: “I think it hurts, definitely. He was someone we all liked and you feel responsible as a player.
“We’re disappointed for everyone, not just the players, it’s our profession as players.
“For the fans and for everyone in the club, it’s not nice when you’re not winning games and it affects everyone in the club.
“It’s always disappointing when a manager loses his job and you do take responsibility for that.
“It does hurt, and when you’re in the training ground at times like that it’s not always a nice place to be, when confidence is low.
“All footballers go through it at some point but there is always another game.
“Especially with us, we’ve got so many games coming up, you have to get over whatever it is very quickly because you don’t want a hangover going into the next game.
“We’re supporting Unsy, I’ve enjoyed training and I’ve enjoyed working with him so far and I wish we could’ve got the results that I feel we maybe deserved.
“Hopefully we can put things right, performances have been okay, performances have been a little bit better in the last two.”