Alan Browne says Preston's players let Alex Neil down as the Scot's departure from Deepdale was confirmed this afternoon.
Neil was in charge at the Championship club for almost four years and his club skipper Browne, 25, admitted he was "pretty gutted" to learn the news.
Preston had only won three of their last 17 games and the final straw came with the 1-0 defeat to Luton yesterday that left the club nine points above the relegation places. It was a game that Browne missed due to suspension.
The Corkman gave his reaction while on Ireland international duty. "I knew before you said it," he said.
"I was pretty gutted earlier, he has been fantastic for me and my career, a lot of the lads at Preston as well, he did a fantastic job.
"And us, as players, ultimately we let him down as he's not the one going out on the pitch but he's the one taking the criticism.
"So it's gutting for me but I'm here in the (Ireland) camp now and need to put all my focus on that - and worry about that when I get back to my club."
With the World Cup campaign starting in Serbia on Wednesday, Browne is realistic enough to know that people will dismiss Ireland 's chances of qualification as the group strive for a first win under Stephen Kenny.
"It's a tough group," he said.
"You know, I think any group would have been, any selection of teams, it's international football so it's always going to be a tough one.
"On paper people will probably rule us out, if we're being realistic, given our recent results we haven't been doing well enough so I'm sure the critics will have already ruled us out.
"But us as a team and a nation, we're always ones to thrive off this and be the underdog and come out on top, and that's what we're looking to do.
"We've got to be as optimistic as possible, we're going into every game to win it, be in no doubt about that.
"That's what we've always done and we want to live up to teams that have gone before us, getting through to the big games and the big stages. We want to keep that going."
Browne missed a penalty in the shoot-out in Slovakia last October, when Ireland missed out on a place in the Euros play-off final.
But he insists he has put that behind him, because that's simply what had to be done.
"It seems like a long time ago but in international football, that's the way it is because it's so spread out, you get time to go back to your club and kind of put it behind you, and that's what we've done," he said.
"Certainly I have, I don't want to dwell on that for too long because you can't change the past, you can only affect the future, and that's what we'll look to do."
Serbia boss Dragan Stojkovic has said that he cannot accept his side losing to Ireland, but Browne is not bothered by his expectation of a home victory.
"I'm unfazed by that," he stated. "We expect to beat Serbia.
"I have no problem with that, as a manager you expect your team to go out and win, fair play to him for coming out and saying that.
"A lot of people hide behind words and don't say what they are thinking, but I know our manager will be expecting the same from us and we'll see how we get on on the day."
However with only one goal scored in Ireland's eight games under Kenny, Browne accepts that goals are going to have come from different areas of the pitch with the strikers struggling to make an impact.
"In previous years there has been a world-class striker, someone who can make something from nothing and that's the first one you look to, he's the one that will get you the goals that win you the games," he commented.
"But unfortunately for us we haven't had that person of late, so yeah, it's going to have be goals throughout the team, you're going to have to get it from midfielders, wingers, defenders, set-pieces...we're really strong from set-pieces, we've got some big guys coming up from the back.
"So you're expecting everyone to chip in and that's the way it's got to be, we've always been built on our togetherness and we're going to have to be together in this and make sure that everyone's pitching in, not just defensively but attacking as well.
"Of course, as a player you are always affected by results, by your lack of goals, whether you are conceding goals, these things play on your mind and you want to fix them.
"But we are the ones who can fix them so it's up to us to find a solution and find it fast.
"For a lot of people this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, I know myself I want to take advantage of it and do all I can to play my part."
