Aston Villa midfielder Mile Jedinak has admitted that it was "disappointing" to see Roberto Di Matteo sacked as manager on Monday.
The Italian was relieved of his duties by Villans owner Dr Tony Xia after a run of one win from the opening 11 games of the season left the former Premier League giants just two points above the drop zone in the Championship table.
Jedinak, 32, was signed by Di Matteo over the summer and, speaking while on international duty in Australia, he insisted that the whole team should take responsibility for their poor start to life in the second tier.
"It's disappointing, but the manager's going to be the first to be put under pressure," he told ESPN. "I'm not trying to shift responsibility - everybody needs to take a look at themselves and we need to rectify what's happened.
"Coming here and getting away from that environment for a bit, you can take a step back and think a bit clearer but it's never nice. I've experienced it a few times at club level, when a manager goes. It doesn't become any easier, but it's part and parcel.
"We're a work in progress. We're only a few positive results from turning it around and I've seen enough to know that we can get those results in a matter of games. It's going to be a challenge but one that you need to embrace, that I've definitely embraced."
Former Birmingham City boss Steve Bruce remains the bookies' favourite to succeed Di Matteo at Villa Park.
Neil Wilkes
