Gary Dicker admits Kilmarnock was "a s***show at times" under Angelo Alessio but insists it wasn't the players who got the Italian sacked.
Antonio Conte's assistant was sacked last week after a run of four games without a win, with many Killie fans surprised by the decision.
And while Dicker admits that there were tensions behind the scenes, he is adamant that it wasn't the players who got Alessio the sack.
He told The 42 : "That has annoyed me because things could have been worse if the players had sacked it off. There are good lads in that dressing room.
"We have made mistakes and been punished on the pitch, we haven’t been good enough at times, the quality has been lacking but not effort.
"It wasn’t great with the manager. I’ll be honest, it was a s***show at times. That’s the truth.
"But the players weren’t the ones who got him sacked. It wasn’t as if the players weren’t having him because he’s foreign or anything to do with the language. You looked at his CV with Conte and it’s top class. Brilliant. But maybe that doesn’t tell the full story.
“Gus Poyet was one of the best managers, coaches, I have worked with. Him and Steve Clarke .
"Their worth ethic, their organisation of training and the team, their understanding of the game. You wouldn’t believe how many managers haven’t got a clue what they’re doing and what they want to do.
"There’s a difference between having an idea of how you want to play but actually explaining it to the players and getting it across in training."
