Seamus Coleman says Everton's players feel a collective sense of responsibility after manager Roberto Martinez paid for a disappointing season with his job.
Martinez was sacked this month following a difficult run-in that saw Everton win one in 10 Premier League matches prior to the Spaniard's dismissal.
The Toffees reached the semi-finals of the League Cup and the FA Cup but failed to progress to the decider in either competition, while winning only six games at home in the league all season.
"If you're finishing 11th, for a team of Everton's standards and players, it's not good enough," Coleman said. "Not many of us can say we kept our standards to what they should be.
"It's a results business and, unfortunately for Roberto, we hadn't been getting them. But it's not just Roberto who takes it on the chin – that comes from the players as well.
"It's not a nice feeling to see someone lose their job and it's not like anyone was happy about it."
Asked about his attacking limitations under Martinez, Coleman added: "Maybe I didn't get to bomb on as much as I would have liked but Gerry [Gerard Deulofeu] was setting up Rom [Romelu Lukaku] week in, week out.
"You can't argue with that. I'm a team player and it's a team game."
