Reading striker Jason Roberts admitted he was sad to hear of Brian McDermott's sacking as manager.
McDermott was axed earlier on Monday with Reading four points adrift of safety after suffering their fourth successive defeat against fellow strugglers Aston Villa on Saturday.
Roberts admits he was shocked by the news and he paid tribute to the job McDermott has done at the Madejski Stadium after guiding them to promotion to the Premier League last season.
"Well I am saddened," Roberts told Sky Sports News. "I hadn't heard anything about it I just found out earlier and as in most situations players are probably one of last people to find out about these things.
"I am saddened because he has been absolutely fantastic for us, been fantastic for me personally and for the club and I think he's been a victim of his own success in some ways.
"I am sure he is going to be disappointed but as you know in football it's a result business and I am sure he will say that as much as anybody else but as a player I am disappointed and it is a sad day for us."
Roberts believes McDermott deserves praise for what he has done at the club during his time in charge.
"It is always tough in these situations we are not party to the discussions had between the manager and whoever else," added Roberts.
"All we can do is just try and perform as best we can on the pitch and I think the performances we have given up to this point to allow Reading to be in Premier League and be in the position we are now have been over and above what people would have expected.
"In the Premier League certainly we would have liked to have done better and liked to have been out of relegation zone but from my point of view I think it is an important time to look back and feel the success what Brian has achieved, what this group of players have achieved with the club and take stock of what a great situation Reading find themselves in.
"At the moment we have got nine games to go there is an opportunity for us to remain in the premier league and we've absolutely done better than people would have expected certainly with the promotion and of course everyone wrote us off at the start of the season.
"With nine games to go we still have an opportunity to achieve Premier League survival.
"As a player it is just for me to place on record my thanks to Brian McDermott on what he has achieved and whatever goes from here on in we need to work hard and keep Reading in the Premier League because that is the goal and even Brian McDermott would say the same thing."
A host of names including Nigel Adkins and Paolo Di Canio have been linked with replacing McDermott, but Roberts wouldn't be drawn on who he wanted to get the job.
"It's not a decision we are party to," Roberts continued. "All we can do is concentrate on what we do on the pitch and on the training ground and do our best for Reading - I don't think anyone would say anything different.
"What we need to do is make sure we leave Reading in a good position, I think Brian McDermott has done that and I think we owe it to the club and owe it to Brian as much as anyone, to do the best we can."
The hosts hope Paul Quinn will be fit as the full-back is nursing a knock following the 2-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday and Rovers boss Dean Saunders will check on him before finalising his plans for Tuesday night.
Captain Rob Jones overcame the calf and ankle problems that forced him off at half-time in the 3-0 defeat at MK Dons to play the full 90 minutes against the Cherries.
Meanwhile, fellow centre-half Jamie McCombe has recovered from a fractured bone in his back and resumed training but he is not yet ready to be considered for first-team selection.
Winger Kyle Bennett will also miss out again as he recovers from a knee injury.
With snow forecast for Monday night, Doncaster will conduct a pitch inspection at midday on Tuesday to determine whether the game will go ahead.
New signing Mathieu Manset could be included in the Cumbrians' squad if the club receives international clearance in time.
But the 23-year-old Frenchman, recently with Swiss club Sion following his release in the summer from Reading, is only 80 per cent fit according to boss Greg Abbott.
Teenage striker Mark Beck is expected to lead the line in the absence of the suspended Lee Miller after scoring his sixth goal of the season in Saturday's 2-0 home win over Brentford.
Miller will sit out the last game of his three-match ban following his recent dismissal against Notts County.
Matty Robson (groin) returned from a four-match injury lay-off against Brentford and is likely to continue and Abbott will be boosted by the return to contention of midfielder Liam Noble following illness.
Abbott has no other new injury or suspension problems.
However the 36-year-old, who was taken off at half-time on Saturday, insists the players will refocus their efforts on securing European football.
He accepts, however, hopes of Champions League qualification - which remained a tantalising prospect for much of the season - are distant.
"It was a disastrous weekend for us. It was a disastrous performance and there is no hiding away from it," he said.
"Personally I was embarrassed by my own performance, it wasn't good enough as a captain and all the lads feel the same.
"We can't hide away from the fact that we have to take our medicine now, take the criticism that comes our way.
"We really felt this was going to be our year in the FA Cup but we were beaten on the day by a team that was better than us.
"Sometimes you can lose cup ties and you can be unlucky but there was no 'unlucky' about it on Saturday, we were well and truly beaten and we need to put that right.
"We have got two months left in the season and we have to bounce back and get a reaction.
"That's what the manager wants and I'm confident in the group of players that I share a dressing room with that we will do that.
"The Champions League place is in the distance: a European place, we would take that now.
"It's what we have been going for all season, making sure that next season there is European football being played at Everton. That's our aim and remains our aim.
"If we can finish in the top four then so be it, but at the moment our short-term aim is to win next Saturday against Man City and to attack the last eight or nine games of the season."
Irate fans voiced their anger at Goodison Park - which has continued over subsequent days - with a chorus of boos and half-time and the final whistle while midfielder Marouane Fellaini was jeered when he was substituted in the second half.
The Belgium international appeared to become involved in an altercation with supporters as he left the pitch and walked straight down the tunnel.
Fellaini was due to attend a signing session at the club's Everton Two store in Liverpool this afternoon but that was strategically pulled in light of Saturday's events.
A statement on Everton's website said: "Due to unforeseen circumstances this afternoon's signing session with Marouane Fellaini at Everton Two has been postponed."
The midfielder added on Twitter: "Sorry to the Everton fans, I cannot make the signing session this afternoon. Will do another one soon. Felly."
Neville has called for the players to pick themselves up and show the fight which was so lacking at the weekend when the Premier League champions come calling on Saturday.
"It's the time where we need to stand up for ourselves," he told Sky Sports News.
"We had a disappointing February, picked up our form going into March and then last week was a major setback for us.
"But this team, this club, has got major character and I fancy us to bounce back."
Everton manager David Moyes' contract runs out in the summer and the Scot has said he will not make a decision on his future until later in the season.
Critics have suggested that has not helped the situation at Everton, who dropped to seventh after Liverpool's win over Tottenham yesterday but are still level on points with their near-neighbours and seven adrift of the top four.
"That's something that only the gaffer can answer," said Neville in response to speculation about Moyes.
"He has brought all of the players in the squad to the club and we all want him to stay but that's up to the manager.
"We aren't using that as an excuse for Saturday's performance -anyone that does, that's a bit of a cop out."
Referee Euan Norris and assistant Raymond Whyte both failed to spot that a Leigh Griffiths free-kick had bounced at least a yard over the line when it crashed down off the crossbar in Sunday's SPL encounter between Hibernian and Hearts at Easter Road, which ended 0-0.
Just eight days earlier across Edinburgh, the International FA Board had approved the use of goal-line technology on television and big screens, something which
Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon called for the swift implementation of after his side were denied their goal yesterday.
FIFA has had tenders from four companies to install systems for the Confederations Cup and World Cup in Brazil, while the FA and Premier League are in talks over putting the technology into English top-flight clubs and Wembley.
But with the systems set to cost at least ?100,000 for each stadium and FIFA still opposed to using television evidence, Scottish football is unlikely to follow suit.
The SFA's head of referee operations, John Fleming, told the governing body's website: "Firstly, as an association we are in favour of goal-line technology, and indeed have been heavily involved during the test process as a member of the IFAB," he said.
"However, as the general secretary of FIFA himself, Jerome Valcke, outlined in Edinburgh last week, the installation of each system will cost a six-figure sum on top of any maintenance costs.
"That would make it prohibitive, I would suggest, for the respective league bodies in Scotland, the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League, to consider rolling out any time soon.
"In the meantime, we will continue to reinforce the training that we give to referees.
"In La Manga, we actually give referees simulations and they have a split second to decide whether the ball is on the line or over the line. It is an essential part of their training but they are only human."
Former referees have pointed out that both officials were positioned as instructed. Norris was facing the wall as Griffiths lined up his 40-yard strike while Whyte started off watching for offside on the 18-yard line.
Fleming said: "In free-kick situations such as the one at the weekend there are three situations that a referee and his assistants must look out for: offside, management of defensive wall with regards to holding, handling and jostling, and the ball over the line.
"In probability terms, the first two occur more often than a contentious ball-over-the-line decision.
"It is crucially important to get those calls right, of course, when the ball may or may not have crossed the line but there are far more instances of the other two.
"Of course goal-line technology would help, and we have four companies - Goal Ref, Hawkeye, Goal Control and Cairos - who have obtained a licence but would Scottish clubs rather invest in this technology at a premium to the detriment of youth investment? I don't think so in the current climate."
Fleming sympathised with Hibs but pointed out the difficulty in getting such decisions right.
"There was another incident involving Hibernian earlier this season where a header from the Motherwell defender, Steven Hammell, crossed the line but the assistant did not have a good enough view to make that call," he added.
"On that occasion, the assistant referee was actually very close to the goal line but his view was obscured by a defending and attacking player.
"The main coaching for match officials is you must be 100% sure of the decision you are going to give. If a referee or assistant referee is less than 100% sure, then he should not make that decision."
The 20-year-old scored on his Magpies debut to earn Chris Kiwomya's side a 1-1 home draw against Crewe, but it was the only goal he managed during his month-long stay at Meadow Lane.
Cofie made seven appearances, six of them starts, for the League One club, the last of which came on Saturday during the goalless draw at Crawley when he was introduced as a 79th-minute substitute.
Asked if he would like to extend the loan deal, County manager Kiwomya told reporters: "I need to sit down with John (Cofie), the chief executive and the chairman to see where we go from here."
