Valencia striker Roberto Soldado has insisted that the players are to blame for the club's poor run of form.

Los Che slipped to 12th place this weekend after a crushing 5-2 home defeat to Real Sociedad, a result which led to the sacking of manager Mauricio Pellegrino.

Soldado thinks that his teammates deserve to shoulder the blame for Pellegrino's dismissal after a disappointing start to the season.

He told AS: "When things go wrong we look to the sidelines and not at ourselves, but now we have to think about what we can do to improve the situation.

"It is the players who have to admit the responsibility for our current situation. After what happened on Saturday I want to apologise to all the fans.

"I do not want to be the one to asses whether [the coach's sacking] is fair or not because the decision has been made. "There has been a change and we need to get to work. We are a small team, but we need to show heart and character on the field."

Pellegrino has reacted angrily to losing his job, claiming that the dismissal was unfair.