Every player in the Heart of Midlothian changing room takes responsibility for the predicament the team find themselves in.

That was Stephen Kingsley's message when he spoke ahead of the Scottish Premiership encounter with Ross County.

The experienced defender discussed Steven Naismith's sacking, Liam Fox's impact, excitement of Europe and the need for the players to step up and get the season up and running.

Read everything he said below...

How has the last week been?

It's been good, it’s been fast and good standard in training. Foxy's come in and made sure we're all at it in training. We've got a good bunch of boys down there, so we know the situation that we're in. But we've been professional on the pitch and really applying ourselves, getting ready for this week and this game coming up.

Have you changed much?

No, I think there has to be a sense of he's come in, he's painting pictures on the training ground without bombarding us with too much information. I think it's important that we ourselves as players, we know what the situation is. And it's important we listen to Foxy now and take on board what he's trying to put over to us and essentially take it into the game, that's the most important thing. We've got a good game tomorrow to go and do that.

How much responsibility do you as a group of players take?

Absolutely, yeah. Listen, it's football, so it ends with the manager. It always does. That's just the nature of the beast. But every single player in the changing room feels a responsibility for the position that we're in. It was not just any member of the coaching staff, nor one single player. It's everyone together and we all feel that. And we know that we have to be in a place now that we're looking forward to tomorrow’s game to put things right that we haven't done so far this season.

Did you have conversations between the players once the decision was made on Sunday?

Well, no, not the experienced boys. Obviously, we've been in this situation before. We've been in difficult environments before and atmospheres that's not nice to work in, especially the news coming off the back of the St Mirren game. We know we're professional enough to know that we need to knuckle down and give everything we've got to Foxy now and make sure we're applying ourselves in the right way. And as I said, try and take on board the message that Foxy is wanting to carry across into the games. So we've all said our bit, whether it's in the last few days or together as a team. But yeah, we all know the situation unfortunately we find ourselves in, but we've got a chance tomorrow to start fresh and to hopefully get that win that we've been looking for and hopefully that can start our season. We've got a lot of games coming up, so what better time to start than now?

This week hammers home the responsibility and the pressure that comes with Hearts and the fact that a lot of you were in the same situation having been there under Robbie and a poor run ends with the sacking of Naismith as well?

Yeah, and as I said, that's the nature of football unfortunately. I think it can get clouded in the sense that the manager gets sacked and maybe people don't think that the players care or are bothered. That's absolutely not the case. We know that we are responsible for being on the pitch, the standards on the pitch, the goals that have been conceded, not scoring enough goals obviously at the other end. At the end of the day, that's on us. We've got the responsibility when we cross the white line. No coach, no manager, no fan, no one else can do anything. It's us on the pitch and we harbour that responsibility and feel the weight of it. But it's something we need to stand up to and I've said that before. There's a responsibility here obviously to put in performances and most importantly get results and we've not been doing that. So we need to stand up and, as I said, we've been saying that for a long time now. There's been change. So it's even more important now we get on board with Foxy saying his message and do everything we can to get us back to playing and getting the results that we need to.

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Have you got a theory as to why things went so well last season but not this season?

To be honest, if it was the case that it was something pretty straightforward, then it would have been done. We'd done all we could on the training pitch and speaking to each other, speaking to the management staff about ways that we could turn it around. Every possible way we could, we tried. We were all professionals. I don't think the attitude in training or anything can be questioned from anyone, but if the answer was as straightforward as one answer or something, then it would be a lot easier. Unfortunately, it's not.

What do you do then?

Well, I think sometimes a fresh start can help. I mean, you see that at any club you go to. Whenever there's change, there's a bounce that we're hoping will come along with it. So, as I said, it comes down to us as players. We know it's not been good enough. There has been change that's been made. I've said it, it's the manager that does end up being moved on and it's up to us players now to really do something about it. And maybe that fresh start and that new look from Foxy is coming in. Hopefully, it will give us something different to really build on. It's a horrible situation. I've been here now long enough that I've been in that situation before. It's horrible. It's a horrible atmosphere to know that someone's lost their job from performances on the pitch that have not been good enough. But as I said, we need to stand up and we need to deal with it. We've not done it yet. So hopefully tomorrow can be the start.

I'd imagine you found it quite difficult yourself because you were teammates with Naismith so I imagine you were quite close as well?

I think all the boys down there, the ones that have played with him, have known him personally. Naisy was the first player that I ever met when I met up with the Scotland squad as well back in... I don't even know what year it was now. So I've known Naisy for years. Then played with him for a club when I came here. He then got the managerial job and did a great job last season. And for whatever reason, it's just not happened this season. And when confidence is low, these things happen and it's horrible. And we do all feel the brunt of it. It's on us now to change it. It's a horrible situation, but we need to make the best of it now.

What correspondence you've had with him this week?

I've spoken to all three of them. I've said what needed to be said to them. It's really disappointing because I got on really well with all three of them, as did all the boys, to be fair. I think it was a good relationship. Unfortunately, these things happen and they send us their best regards and vice versa. And they'll do well in the future, wherever they end up. They're great people as well as good coaches. So, wish them all the best.

Did they make contact with you?

They were notified of the decision. And they reached out to us and sent in a wee message. Individually, I think a lot of the boys were quick to give their thanks as well. It's not just been this year and beginning of this year and last season. It's been... We've known we've got relationships with them all. It was a tough few days last week. But that's football.

Andrew McKinlay was quite detailed about the nature of the second-half performance against St Mirren that sealed Steven's fate. That must have hurt the players to hear that?

I've not watched it myself, sorry. I've been working hard this week in training so I've not really managed to catch the interview. Looking at last Saturday, it was, again, a story of our season so far. We started off so positively. Could have scored, could have had a couple of chances. And then we kicked the teeth with the goal that we conceded. And just in the space that we're in, we get ourselves back into it and to lose that goal. And then the second half comes and it doesn't really look like we're going to get back in the game at any point. Even though we had possession. So mistakes are costing us. And that has really been the story of the season so far. That's probably why so much responsibility is felt by the players. Because of those errors that lead to the situation that we're in.

Against Ross County is it important for you guys to see this just for the opportunity that it is. You can dictate the atmosphere if you get out of the blocks in the first half?

Definitely. Absolutely. It's a fresh start for a lot of boys. A chance to really put our foot down now. And for whatever reason, it's not worked up until now. Which isn't good. But it's a clean slate. We know it's going to be packed. We know that there's going to be an atmosphere in Tynecastle. We know the challenges that Ross County pose. They're going to be a tough nut to crack. But what an opportunity, it's the start of a lot of games coming up, we've got Europe next week as well. So, what a chance for us to go and lay down a marker and just try and kick-start our season now and kick on.

It should be exciting. Can you still feel the excitement?

Of course it is. When you look back, it's disappointing. But you can't afford to do that in football, especially at this level. You need to look forward and see tomorrow for the opportunity. What an opportunity we've got midweek as well. You play a European tie. You've got an opportunity to go and make a mark in European football. It is exciting. Even though, with what's going on, it's been so disappointing. What an opportunity it is to be here. We should all feel lucky that we've got that opportunity to go and play in these games. It starts tomorrow. We're not looking ahead after that. There's absolutely no way we can afford to do that. But we need to see it for the opportunity that it is. It's a chance to go and win a game of football in kick-start season. It's going to be busy. 

You're playing in Europe next week but no fans. How can players deal with the lack of atmosphere being a different factor?

It is. Before Covid, it probably would have had a bigger impact. But because, from my perspective, as soon as I came here, it was in those Covid times. Which probably most of us should be used to. It's going to be different again. We've now had the fans back in for a couple of years now. But we need to deal with it. We're professional footballers and we know the situation. It's an exciting game to play. Hopefully, it starts tomorrow. We can get that win and lead us into that game in Azerbaijan nicely.