Glenn Whelan made 17 appearances for Hearts

Glenn Whelan says he has been "thrown under a bus" by new Hearts manager Daniel Stendel after his Tynecastle career was cut short.

And the Republic of Ireland midfielder accused Hearts of being "amateurish" in dealing with his departure.

Whelan, 35, was released on Tuesday, four months into a one-year deal.

"Things were being said about me, that I didn't fancy it, I was laying down the tools. No way was that the case," Whelan told the Irish Independent. external-link

"When the new manager came in, the first person he spoke to was me. He was already having a bit of a go.

"My form was good for the last few months but the manager came in and wanted to show his power, show the other players that he's the boss, he's the main man.

"I do feel let down. The way my name is out there now it feels like I have been thrown under a bus."

Whelan started two of Stendel's first three games last month but did not feature again before his exit.

He says he found out on Christmas Day, via a players' WhatsApp group, that he was not in the squad for the Boxing Day defeat by Hibernian and that Stendel refused to discuss why he had dropped him.

"I went to the manager to try and have a word," Whelan added. "He was watching videos of the Hibs game and said he didn't have time to speak to me. That was the last of it for me at Hearts.

"I can't accept him coming out and questioning my leadership skills or saying I didn't do the job - I did the job he asked."

Whelan was also unhappy with the way Hearts, who sit bottom of the Scottish Premiership, informed him of his departure.

"They call themselves a professional football club, but I never heard anything from anyone at Hearts," he added.

"On Monday night, I got an email from someone at the club with the contract details, asking me to sign so we could go our separate ways. It was all very amateurish from their side."

BBC Scotland has approached Hearts for comment.